Brown Eyes
by Accidental Insults
Summary: Mirri finds herself at Hogwarts in the time of the Marauders. Over the course of her stay she befriends Remus and the other Marauders, but trouble looms in future. Adventure enough to make anyone wish for normalcy. R&R Please. My first fic!
1. Strange Happenings

Chapter 1

Strange things had been happening to Mirri for as long as she could remember. So it came as no surprise (almost) when heading through the library doors to check out some books one summer afternoon, she opened the door to find herself facing, not the library, but somewhere else entirely.

"Where am I?" Mirri was standing in a great open stone lobby with two great double doors to her right. "Might as well find out." She pushed the doors open and found herself facing the embodiment of her imagination-Great Hall of Hogwarts, a _fictional_ place. Hundreds of pairs of eyes were staring at her as she walked forward to crazily accurate table of teachers in front. _Okay_, she thought, _I'll just go up to the front and ask them how I got here_.

The strange thing was, Mirri was getting a little nervous. She had gotten used to weird things happening, but this, _this_ was downright scary. Her imagination had never been this realistic before.

As she approached the staff table, Professor Dumbledore stood. "Welcome! We are glad you came to join us!"

Mirri stared at the professor; he was too real. "Have you been expecting me? Because I certainly didn't know that I was coming…and another few things: 1) you are fictional characters in a book I read, so you can't be real, 2) If I'm going to play along, then you should know that I'm a muggle, 3) how were you expecting me in the first place?!" Mirri was beyond scared now, and when she beyond that, she started to yell. _Oh God, I hope I'm dreaming_._ I have to be dreaming._

Dumbledore smiled behind his half-moon glasses. "All in good time, my dear. You will spend some time with us here and your belongings are stationed in the Gryffindor Tower. For now you will have dinner with us; we were just starting." He clapped his hands and dinner appeared on the four great tables. He gestured for a student at the Gryffindor table who hurried up. "Remus, this young lady is in your charge. Show her around tomorrow. After dinner, help her to the tower and let her stay with you. Don't let her get into trouble." He turned to Mirri who was staring at Remus with her confused mind only thinking, _he's hot._ "Stay with Remus, Ms. Libra, and he will help you. Go ahead and eat now."

Remus led Mirri to where he was eating with his friends without a word before starting to give introductions. But when he pointed to a boy with messy black hair and glasses, Mirri spoke first, "James Potter-I know," she said. The four boys looked at her strangely. She pretended not to notice, pointed at the second boy with dark brown hair (and _quite_ handsome), and said, "Sirius Black," another boy with mouse brown hair, "Peter Pettigrew," and then pointed to her tall, dirty-blonde, gold-eyed, _gorgeous _guide, "Remus Lupin, I know. I told Dumbledore that all of you were book characters, remember?" She paused before saying, "I'm Mirri Libra. Don't just stare at me, go ahead and eat. I'm not hungry."

Mirri sat down beside James and stared around her. The Great Hall looked exactly like she imagined, almost scarily so. Allowing her gaze to fall on the people around her, she searched for two individuals who she found at the Slytherin table-Severus Snape-who, surprisingly was staring right back at her. Mirri smiled, Snape had always been on of her favorite characters. Snape blushed slightly, scowled, and looked away. Mirri moved on, found the second person and smiled again; Lily Evans was very pretty. James and Lily would make a great couple.

Mirri jumped at the tap on her shoulder. Someone was asking her a question. "Pardon?"

"I asked, 'where you were from?' Dumbledore has never held up dinner for anything. You must be special." The question was from Sirius; he had finished eating and was staring at her.

"Well," Mirri started with an intense stare back at Sirius. Her gaze unnerved him and he looked away. "I'm from the United States. You, like I said, are book characters in a famous book series called-" she stopped when she caught Dumbledore's eye at the teacher's table. He smiled at her and shook his head. "I'm rambling. I guess I'm tired. I think I'm ready to go to bed. It was nice meeting all of you."

Mirri stood up and headed towards the door but stopped when she heard footsteps behind her. The four boys were following her, which was just as well, because she had no idea how to get to Gryffindor Tower. "Sorry. You don't have to escort me; I'm sure I can find my own way."

"You're in my charge," said Remus, already leading the way up the stairs "besides, you're interesting. We have many questions so you might as well allow us to follow you."

He led the way to Gryffindor Tower and gave the password-"Hippogriff feathers"-before stepping into the common room. Mirri gasped with delight at recreation of her dreams and walked over to the fire to curl in one of the couches. Sirius, James, and Peter sat in the armchairs around her while Remus sat at the other end of the couch.

"So," James drawled (he apparently didn't like her very much), "how is it that an American (a muggle, no less!) came to Hogwarts (a _magic_ school), got placed in Gryffindor (the best house for _magical_ students), and has to be led around by the prefect to be waited on every hand and foot like some unwanted princess?"

_Oh_, Mirri thought glaring at James, _he is going to make my stay very difficult_. The others gave uneasy glances James' way. "Well, don't ask me," she with just as much ice, "I never asked to be here. And I never asked to be led around. So, if you'll excuse me, this apparent muggle-princess is going to bed." And with that, Mirri got up and stalked up the stairs to her room without a backward glance.



"Great job, Prongs," Remus groaned as the four boys headed toward their room, "that was a _great_ way to make her feel welcome in the group. She hasn't done anything wrong and you immediately antagonize her."

"'In the group'?" asked Peter, "Since when did we let others into this little organization? We don't know anything about her and yet she knows all about us. Besides, she's a muggle. She said so herself."

"Well, I have to look after her, so she has to hang out with us; and-"

"I can tell that already you have a thing for her, Moony. That's all you ever mention- 'She's in my charge'- 'I have to look after her'," Sirius laughed.

"Padfoot's right," James replied, smirking. "_And_ you defend her, though there is no reason to."

"I agree," Peter said.

"I do not," Remus replied defensively, "I'm just following Dumbledore's orders. So, shut up and go to sleep." Remus closed his four-poster's curtains to the sound of his friend's chuckles and murmurs of "Defensive, much?"



Mirri closed the door to her bedroom and sank to the floor in a weary heap. Struggling to keep her tears at bay, she glanced around at her single room and idly wondered why she hadn't been placed with the other fifth year girls. In front of her four-poster bed was a trunk. She slowly got up and opened it to find uniforms (with Gryffindor insignia), regular clothes, books for classes, and other necessities. She looked up to catch sight of her occupied bedside table with…a wand. Dashing forward, she carefully picked it up and felt a shiver run down her spine. _I wonder- _"_Lumos_," she said under her breath with half-hopes that it would work.

To her shock, the wand lit up with a greenish glow. "_Nox_," she said. _I can do magic here_, she thought excitedly. "Oh my God!"

Then she noticed a letter leaning against the lamp. She opened it up to find a note:

_You are here for a reason for which I am unable to understand._

_For now, everything has been provided for. _

_Do not be alarmed and don't worry. You will have the ability to do magic as well._

_We will do what we can to get you back to the future._

_In the meantime, _Stay with Remus_._

_Professor Dumbledore_

_Well_, thought Mirri, _this is certainly different_. Yawning, she got her pajamas on and slowly got in bed. _Maybe a little sleep will help me_, she thought, yawning. And maybe she would wake up to find this all just a dream. She fell asleep thinking that maybe this wouldn't be so bad to be stuck here.


	2. Midnight Mishaps

Chapter 2

Morning dawned bright and clear with Mirri looking out the window at the beautiful sky from her perch on the bed._ It must be late September or early October._ She put on one of the school robes inside the trunk, brushed her long, wavy, brown hair, grabbed her books, and went downstairs to the common room. The boys were down there already, waiting for her it seemed. They stared at her as if not sure to believe that she actually existed. "Good morning!" she said, cheerily, though slightly affronted.

That seemed to snap them out of whatever it was they were thinking. "'Morning," said Sirius, "Hungry?"

"Famished," Mirri answered, smiling.

"Shall we head down to the Great Hall then?" asked Remus, with James glaring at her over his shoulder.

"I remember the way," Mirri glowered at James, her good mood quickly disappearing. She tripped out of the portrait hole and stumbled away without waiting. Remus glared at James before quickly following.

After breakfast Remus brought Mirri up to date on the schedule: "History of Magic and Transfiguration before lunch and Double Potions afterwards. Then dinner."

"Is Professor Binns the History teacher?" Mirri asked while the five of them made their way to that class.

"Yes," said James, "how did you know that?' He then realized and narrowed his eyes, "Oh, right, you know _everything_ there is to know about us."

"Mirri, why do you have a wand?" asked Remus, talking over James, pointing at the wand sticking out of her pocket, "I thought you were a muggle."

"I thought so too," Mirri said, pulling out the wand and throwing James a final glare, "but when I got to my room, I found it and started messing with it. I said an incantation just for fun and, to my shock, it worked. Watch." She pointed to James' bag and said, "_Wingardium Leviosa_." The bag rose three feet in the air to the gasps from the boys and the indignant shouts of James.

"_Finite_," Remus said, pointing his own wand at the bag. It dropped into the owner's angry arms. "That's amazing, Mirri, but students are not allowed to do magic in the halls. I don't want you to get in trouble."

"Says the prefect. You _were_ the one who asked, Remus," Mirri said,stowing her wand in her robes. "Come on, we're going to be late."



Mirri adjusted quickly. She learned all the routes at Hogwarts and became one of the smartest students there. Pretty soon, Remus and her were battling it out for the top student position and having long heated discussions over homework essay questions and comparing notes with her. She spent long hours in her room at night, presumably studying, getting little sleep, and changing the subject every time someone asked her why she was always so tired. The time would come soon when she would let them know what she was up to.

As the full moon approached, Mirri called the Marauders together to share her accomplishment. Three weeks, she told them; it only took her three weeks to accomplish what they worked hard to achieve for years. In confusion, they agree to meet with her.

Mirri had told the boys to meet her in the Astronomy Tower at midnight. It was midnight now and the boys were late. Sighing, she slouched into a chair and waited impatiently. Then she heard it. A soft shuffle. Someone was coming, but she didn't see anyone. As she slowly turned around, a hand clapped over her mouth and sent a thrill of fear down her spine. She struggled against the grasp.

"It's us," a warm, familiar breath whispered.

Mirri jerked out of Remus' grip. _Idiot_, she scolded herself, _you should have remembered James would have his Invisibility Cloak_. "'Bout time," she grumbled, standing up and waiting for the boys to settle on the nearby tables, "now, I want to just say that I know where you guys disappear to once a month." She turned to Remus, "The full moon is tomorrow, Moony, and I want to come." She waited for this to sink in. To her shock, everyone grinned.

"We were wondering how long it would take you," Remus said, "But there was something else you wanted us to see or know...what is it?"

She hesitated for a moment before stepping out into the cleared space. "This." Closing her eyes, Mirri took a deep breath and allowed her mind to slowly morph into the attitude she needed to complete her task. Her body shifted and reshaped in the blink of an eye. Where she stood now sat an Arctic wolf. Her white fur glimmered with red, gold, and brown flecks. The wolf/Mirri opened her eyes and looked at the Marauders with unblinking questioning brown.

"How-" Sirius started as she shifted back into her human form.

"I've always known you were a werewolf, Remus. I found a book on it in the restricted section and learned for myself as quickly as possible; roughly three weeks. Now I can come with you."

"Whoa! No, no, no! Wait!" James shouted, "Sh-she can't come with us!" He whirled around to look at Mirri. "Three weeks!?"

"It's okay, Prongs," Remus said, his eyes never leaving Mirri's, "You know she fits in well with us even if you don't like her, especially with her brain. But I'm curious, Mirri. How did you do it in three weeks?"

"Where there's a will, there's a way," Mirri shrugged, "Can I come?"

"I don't see why not." Remus said, still smiling. "Right?" he asked James, Sirius, and Peter, who exchanged a worried glance. Remus glared at them. "I said 'right?'"

"I don't think it'll be much of a problem," Sirius said.

"Okay then, it's all set," Remus said.

"Yes!" Mirri exclaimed, jumping in the air and knocking over a telescope.

The boys laughed. "You guys go on ahead," Mirri said, looking around the room and realizing the mess she made moving desks and the broken telescope, "I'll clean up."

"I'll stay, too," Remus replied.

James, Sirius, and Peter exchanged a sly look, covered with the Invisibility Cloak, and left.

"_Reparo_," Mirri said. She picked up the telescope and put it back. Remus came to help her move the desks back into place.

"So, tell me, exactly how did you do that?"

"Don't ask me," Mirri replied with a shrug, "I found this book in the library. I read it, and I understood it. Even when it said to combine the mind and imagination and whatnot to achieve this inner...cosmic balance thingy. So I tried it and it worked." She turned to Remus and sat on a table, "Did that make sense?"

Remus sat next to her and chuckled, "No, it didn't." After a few moments of companionable silence, he asked, "Mirri, that book series. You said it had all of us in it. What else does it say about my- _our_- future?" He couldn't look at her as he waited for her to answer.

Mirri let her mind wander to books and their contents sitting on her shelf at home with their tragic stories about each of the Marauders, and decided that she wouldn't, and couldn't, tell him. "You don't need to worry about your future," she said, placing her hand on his shoulder, "you don't need to worry about it at all." Then she yawned.

Remus glanced at her hand and felt his heart skip a beat at the contact, "Mirri, I..." When Mirri looked at him, he coughed. "Um...we should probably head back."

"You're right." Mirri got off the table with another yawn. "Come on." She headed out the door with Remus following behind her with his mind full of the mysteries she knew about his future and reveling in how warm her hands were.



Remus and Mirri were still heading back to the Gryffindor common room when they heard a loud CRASH! The two looked at each other and groaned, "Peeves." Mirri looked around and then at Remus in alarm, "There's nowhere to hide. We'll be caught!"

Three more thuds and crashes came before Peeves appeared, "Ooh," he cackled, "it's Loopy Lupin and Muggleborn Libra! Naughty of you to be out of bed at this hour."

"Peeves," Remus said calmly, "You're insults are lacking in creativity; I think you're losing your touch." But before he could say anything else, another voice came.

"PEEVES!!"

Professor McGonagall came sweeping down the corridor in her nightgown. Peeves cackled and disappeared through the wall. _Damn_, thought Remus, _We're going to get it now_. McGonagall stopped in front of the two teenagers in a swirl of angry flannel.

"What--?" she started, her mind still occupied by chasing Peeves, "No, I don't want to know. Twenty points from Gryffindor. Each. And the both of you will receive detention. Meet me in my office tomorrow immediately after dinner. Now, go to bed before I deduct more points. I'm rather ashamed of you Remus; I would think that Gryffindor and being a prefect would mean more to you." She sighed and swept past them at the sound of glass breaking (Peeves seemed to knock down a cabinet).

"Twenty points each _and_ a detention?" Mirri gasped. She paused with a yawn, "Well, I guess it's my fault. Sorry, Remus."

_Wow_, thought Remus, _taking the full blame_. "No, it's okay." He laughed, "In a way I've kinda missed being in detention. It's been a while." Grabbing Mirri by the shoulders, he began to steer her towards the common room. "Come on. We've got classes tomorrow, and you're almost dead on your feet."

"Thanks," Mirri said, spontaneously leaning her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes, and yawning again, "I'm so tired."

Warmth bled through Remus' shoulder, tingling where Mirri's head touched him. In a way, Remus wished she wouldn't lean against him, but the other part of his mind told him he would miss the warmth of it. _She has so many good qualities to her_, the angel on his right shoulder stated, _it's alright to fall in love with her. _"But I'm not," he whispered under his breath. Mirri didn't hear him.

_You better do something about that,_ the shoulder devil smirked evilly, _She needs to know that you want her. She's always playing around with Sirius; you can't let that happen_.

_He will do it in his own time_, the shoulder angel responded.

_She's so naïve, _the devil angel argued relentlessly, _and clumsy. Without you, where is she going to end up?_

_Both of you shut up,_ Remus firmly demanded. "She's fine."

But then she did trip, if only to emphasize the angel's comment. Remus grabbed her before she hit the floor.

"Sorry," she yawned. Remus put his arm around her for support, and she settled her head back on his shoulder.

The rest of the trip back to the Gryffindor Tower was uneventful. When they got in, they both collapsed on the couch. Remus still had his arm around Mirri and he had no intention of moving it unless she wanted him to.

All of a sudden, Mirri sat up; the top of her head connected with his chin. He gasped in pain. So did she. "Are you okay? I'm sorry, I just remembered. Tomorrow is our detention, but so is the full moon." She sank back down into his arm before he could move or protest and rubbed her head.

Remus squeezed her shoulder and rubbed his chin, letting his head rest on the back of the couch, "Don't worry. McGonagall will let us out before anything happens."

_Wow_, Mirri thought, _I never thought that this would ever be possible. I never knew how safe I could feel in his arms_. She snuggled closer, hoping he wouldn't notice, and after a few minutes, fell asleep. Remus stayed awake a little longer, arguing internally with his shoulder angels, finally ending with all three of them agreeing that he was falling in love with her and he needed to do something soon. What that was, Remus wasn't sure. He was having a hard time thinking due to her breath falling on his chest and sending shivers throughout his body. He impulsively kissed the top of her head, drinking in the smell of her. He fell asleep with his head resting on top of hers.


	3. Transformations

Chapter 3

Remus had not returned to the dormitory the night before, and the rest of the Marauders were getting worried.

"She's bewitched him," James grumbled darkly, "I know it."

"Take in the fact that she _is_ a witch," Sirius said. "Come on; let's go downstairs while everyone's still asleep."

When the boys reached the bottom, an interesting sight met their eyes. There on the couch were Mirri and Remus. Remus had his arm protectively around her shoulders with her head resting at the crook of his neck and her arm across his chest. His head rested on hers and both had smiles on their lips.

Peter chuckled softly, "Ahh. They look so cute. 'Be a shame to wake them."

"Kind of have to, though, don't we? This is incriminating evidence," Sirius smirked, walked over to the couch and tapping the two sleeping figures. They both slowly opened their eyes and seeing the position they were in, jerked apart.

"I-it's not what you think!" Remus exclaimed, blushing, "We--"

"Save it, Moony," James said, "We know _you_ wouldn't do anything. But _her_ on the other hand-"

Remus opened his mouth to argue, but Mirri got to him first.

"I don't know what the hell your problem is James Potter, but you've been nothing but unbearable these past two months. Ever since that first conversation we had, I have thought you were a rude, conceited, intolerable bastard! But now, I don't even think I should give you _that_ much credit!" As she vented her fury, Mirri started crying. "What did you think I did to Remus after you left, huh? Drugged him? Gave him a love potion? Had wild sex?! I am not as evil or vindictive as you think, you idiot." With a final angry glare she whirled around and ran to the girls' dormitory stairs, tripping as she made the first step. She groaned with frustration and finished stomping off. The boys could hear her dormitory door open and slam shut.

James stared bewildered at the spot Mirri was standing. Remus rounded on him. "I don't believe you," was all he said. He turned around and left through the portrait hole.



That day was spent in stony silence. Mirri and Remus completely ignored James and each other. They were both too embarrassed about that morning.

Five o'clock came to find the two of them standing in front of McGonagall's desk.

"Your punishment is to polish the trophies in the Trophy Room without magic. A simple enough task, but it is time consuming. You need to finish before seven, Remus. So you both better get going."

Mirri and Remus made their way to the Trophy Room in continued silence. They both knew what would happen if they didn't finish in time. They picked up the polishing cloths and began. Mirri had polished before just as Remus had had this detention before and knew what to do, so it didn't take either of them very long to finish. They were still only done with ten minutes to spare.

"Let's go," Remus said, speaking directly to her for the first time that day.

"'kay," Mirri replied, following.

When they got to the common room, Sirius, Peter, and James pounced on them.

"Where have you been?!"

"We've been waiting forever!"

"We need to go now!"

"Detention," Remus replied, "I know. Let's go."

James grabbed his Invisibility Cloak and followed the others out the door. When they got to the Great Hall they stopped. There, standing in front of the great double doors was Snape.

"And where do you think you're going?" he snarled, watching the five of them with a look of pure contempt.

"For a stroll, _Snivillus_, is there anything in the rule books against us?" Sirius barked.

"Actually, there is," Snape sneered, "it's seven o'clock, and students are not allowed to be out. Your prefect should know that."

Remus pulled out his wand, "Sorry, Snape, I know it's against school rules, but you are wasting my valuable time. PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!"

Snape's body went rigid. He fell back and hit the stone floor with a SMACK! Sirius and James pulled Snape into a nearby closet.

"What are you doing?" a voice asked. The five whirled around to find Lily Evans standing there. James' maturity level dropped on sight. "'Sup, Evans?" he asked smoothly.

The other four rolled their eyes. So did Lily. "You shouldn't leave him there like that," she said pulling out her wand, "not without a proper memory charm."

The others looked on with a mix of shock and awe as Lily walked into the closet. There was a bright light along with an "_OBLIVIATE_!" then Lily walked back out. "Alright."

"Th-that was advanced magic, Lily," Mirri stammered, staring at her dumbfounded.

Remus laughed, "Get used to it."

Lily smiled at Mirri, who closed her gaping mouth and smiled back. "Thanks."

"No prob," she said, "'bye."

"Bye," the five said in unison.

Just as the five reached the lawn, Remus gasped in pain and collapsed. "Remus!" Mirri shouted, bending down to help.

"It's starting," Sirius said, "come on, under the Invisibility Cloak, hurry!"

Sirius grabbed Remus and put gasping boy's arm around his neck. James got the other. The five of them rushed across the grounds as the moon was covered with a cloud. Peter transformed into his Animagus and pushed the knot on the Whomping Willow, making the thrashing stop long enough to let Remus, Sirius, James, and Mirri through.

Once in, Remus regained consciousness. "I can go now, but the rest of you should change now, just in case."

In the blink of an eye, Sirius turned into a large black dog, James, a stag, and Mirri, an Arctic wolf. They continued on their way. Mirri's night vision and the thrill of being out with her Animagus friends sent a thrill through her. _This is so cool_, she thought. After walking (or stumbling in Remus' case) in the dark for five solid minutes, they saw moonlight shining through a hole ahead. "That's the Shrieking Shack." Remus said into her wolf ear. Mirri shivered, she had wanted to see this place for a while.

She leapt out of the hole into a room with peeling wallpaper and moth-eaten rugs and drapes. She yipped excitedly and ran through the house, observing everything. Remus laughed when she came back. "Someone's excited."

Mirri noticed that he stayed in the shadows, away from the moonlight. He noticed her gaze and wearily smiled. "I can't hide for long. It's time," he said before he collapsed on the floor with scream of pain.


	4. Disappearances

Chapter 4

Remus screamed in pain as he began to transform. Mirri went to go help him, but Sirius stepped in her way and shook his shaggy head. So she slowly stepped back and sat down, listening and watching in worry as Remus made the final transformation.

'Big' was the only thing that came to Mirri's mind when he was done. From the things she read, they should be safe as animals. James, Sirius, and Peter seemed to be at ease, at least; Sirius more than anyone. Remus gave a huge sigh and stepped up to Mirri, "Well, what do you think?"

Mirri stepped up to him cautiously, "Did it hurt that much?" then she gaped at him, "We can talk to each other?"

"In answer to your first question: yes, a hell of a lot. In answer to your second question: We're all animals aren't we?"

"I never thought about that," she said, then she yipped (Which symbolizes her laugh/giggle), "This is so _cool_! So what do you guys do here? I mean, this place really isn't entertainment central, now is it."

"You may think this is kind of stupid," Peter said slowly.

"Try me."

"You know all those games you played as a kid-hide-and-seek, tag, blind-man's bluff?" Sirius asked.

"Yeah…."

"Well, there you go."

Mirri sat down hard on the floor and sat there thinking. The boys waited anxiously as she absorbed the new information. Finally she stood up, walked to the nearest Marauder (Remus), and addressed the group, "I only have one thing to say," she head-butted Remus in the leg (that was all she could reach, he was so big), "TAG! You're it!" and bounded off through the house laughing. James, Peter, and Sirius laughed and ran away as well with Remus in hot pursuit.

For all his size, Remus was fast and agile. He caught Mirri fairly quickly. Mirri then caught James who gave her a horrible look. "Be careful, Prongs," she said, licking her wolfish lips, "I eat animals like you for lunch." Prongs glared at her again before running on. Truthfully, Mirri wasn't the least bit hungry. She was tired; she hadn't gotten but a few hours of sleep the night before and she needed a rest.

The game of tag ended shortly, merely because everyone was losing interest. As the five of them sat in the living room, Peter suggested that the next game be hide-and-seek. Mirri started to groan with the others when she realized that it would be a great way to get some sleep-only if she found a good spot to hide. "Why not?" she said.

Remus turned to her, "You do realize that Peter is the best among us because of his size?"

"That's why he should be it first," she said giving Peter a very toothy wolf grin. Peter started to protest when James said, "You know? She has a point. You be first, Wormtail."

The boys stared at James. Mirri looked dumbfounded. _He actually agrees with me?_ She thought, _and over silly game, too_. James backed up a step, "You guys look like I just sprouted another head. Are we gonna play or what?"

Peter hopped onto the couch, closed his eyes, and began to count. Mirri raced off silently to the bedroom. She opened the closet door and climbed to the top shelf and closed the door. She got herself comfortable and fell asleep.



Although he wouldn't admit it, Remus was worried. Peter, of all animals, couldn't find Mirri. They had looked everywhere. The others had given up and were downstairs in the living room relaxing. Remus was lying on the bed in the upstairs bedroom. He knew that Mirri wasn't irresponsible, but she could be reckless. And clumsy. But he also knew that she wouldn't worry him-_them_-on purpose.

As he lay there, his ears perked up. There was something in the closet. _Probably just Wormtail_. He sniffed around. _No, the guys are all downstairs, I can smell them. This is a different smell, a lighter one_. He went over to the closet and nudged the door open. _Nothing_. When he went to close the door he smelled it again. _It has a sweet tint to it. What is it?_ Then he saw a shape on the top shelf in the corner. _It's Mirri! But what's wrong with her?_ "Mirri? Mirri?!"

Mirri shuddered out of her sleep. "Hmm? Oh…you found me. Did I win?" she yawned.

Remus fumed, "We've been looking all over for you. And I find you here, asleep! I wasn't sure what had happened to you and here you are, looking dead. Do you have any idea-" he stopped. Mirri had a weird look on her face.

"You were worried about me?"

Remus' anger melted and was replaced by nervousness, "No. Just...just w-wondering. It's my job to watch you." He immediately regretted saying it when he saw her face. "Oh," she said, "Okay. Wake me up when it's time to leave." And with that, she turned around and went back to sleep.

Remus sighed and got down. He shut the door and went downstairs. "I found her." No one was listening to him. _Oh well_, he sank onto the couch. _I am such a jerk. Why couldn't I just tell her that, yes, I was worried_. He had to say that usually by now he was crazy for the taste of blood. When these moments came, no one was able to get through to him; a red cloud covered his vision. He then went into another room and stayed there biting and chasing himself. But, so far that evening (it was four in the morning) the red cloud hadn't appeared.

Remus looked up at the sound of creaky floorboards. Mirri was coming down the stairs. "I'm heading back. See you in a couple of hours." She headed towards the hole and jumped down. Remus silently got up and followed her.

Before Mirri got out of the passage, she stopped and looked behind her; Remus quickly ducked behind one of the Whomping Willow's roots, knowing he was downwind. Satisfied that no one seemed to be following her, Mirri stuck her head out of the gap in the roots, pushed the knot, got out and started making her way back towards the school. Remus quietly stuck his head out of the hole and debated coming out. Thinking it was a good idea to make sure she got back to the school alright, he stepped out onto the moonlit grounds. He didn't know why he thought he should follow her, but he felt that he should. As he watched her, a shadow passed over her figure. Looking up, his blood started to thud in his ears. Mirri felt the shadow as well.

"Don't move, Mirri," he hissed. To his horror, Mirri whirled around surprisingly at the sound of his voice.

"What is a Norwegian Ridgeback doing on the grounds at Hogwarts?" she hissed back, inching her way towards Remus. Unfortunately for Mirri, the dragon noticed and started to dive. "Run Mirri!" Remus shouted. Mirri was already running as fast as her legs could carry her towards Remus but the dragon was too fast. Folding its wings, it dove faster. Catching her in its claws, it pushed off the ground and started to fly away with Mirri biting and scratching at the dragon's claws. Knowing it was futile but unwilling to give up, Remus chased after the dragon.

"MIRRI!" he shouted.

"REMUS!" Mirri screamed. Then the dragon was gone and Mirri along with it.


	5. The Rescue

Chapter 5

Remus ran back to the Whomping Willow shouting for the others since he couldn't reach the knot. They came running. "What's the matter?" Sirius asked.

"She's gone! It came-swoosh!-took…through Forest….HUGE!" he stammered.

"Whoa, slow down!" Sirius said. "Where's Mirri?"

"_That's_ what I have been trying to tell you!" he finally got out. "A Norwegian Ridgeback took Mirri!"

"WHAT?!" they all exclaimed.

"You have to go tell Dumbledore. Get me into the tree and I will wait for you."  
Peter pushed the knot and Remus went inside to begin his twenty minute pace.



Dumbledore followed the boys down to the grounds, his thoughts concerned but knowing that something like this was going to happen. When they got to the tree, Dumbledore sighed, "Peter, go ahead and let him out."

"But Professor--"

"I will not be harmed."

Peter exchanged a worried glance with the others and morphed. He pushed the knot on the tree and allowed Remus to jump softly out of the hole. Remus turned to Dumbledore and growled.

"Keep yourself sane, Remus. For Mirri's sake at least."

Sirius translated, his body half way between dog and human and his voice etched with concern and the out of body tone a translator has. "Professor," Sirius spoke for Remus, "I am willing to go after her. I know the direction the dragon went."

"Absolutely not. You will have to wait until morning."

Remus took a step closer to Dumbledore. Sirius gave him an alarmed look at his next response. "It's my fault she's been kidnapped. I am going to go after her." He glared at the other Marauders. "You guys are gonna help, right?"

The others quickly nodded their heads. Dumbledore refrained from being fascinated by Remus' attitude; a werewolf never passes up an opportunity for destruction. _Meeting Mirri has really changed him_, he thought, _a little more than I would like perhaps. But he is determined to go after her, as I expected_. "Remus, the sun is going to come up in less than an hour. Can't you at least wait until then?" Then he stopped. _Leaving now in this form will allow him to move quickly and by the time he finds her, the sun will be up._ "Nevermind, go ahead and leave now. Follow the dragon's scent and as soon as you find her, get back here."

Remus glared at Dumbledore, Sirius asked the same question with his eyes, "You're just going to let us leave?" He then gave a wolfish grin. "I'm glad you're seeing this my way."

Dumbledore just watched Remus calmly through his half moon glasses. "You're wasting time."

Remus smiled evilly again. He turned around and bounded off towards the Forbidden Forest. The others started to follow him but Dumbledore called Sirius back. He put a necklace around his neck. "When you find Mirri, tap this with your wand and say, '_Colloportus_.' All of you will have thirty seconds before it initiates and brings you to my office. Hurry up and be careful."

Sirius nodded his consent, morphed back into a dog, and chased after the others. Dumbledore watched until they disappeared into the Forbidden Forest. _I hope I made the right decision_, he thought as he made his way back to the castle.



Remus tore through the brush, not caring if the others were following or not. _I promised Dumbledore that I would keep her out of trouble_. He stopped in alarm, sniffed the air, paused, and sniffed again. "_SIRIUS!_"

Sirius bounded up. He sniffed the air and started running, "This way!"

Remus and the others followed, Remus cursing for the first time in his life the rising sun and the loss of his werewolf senses. All of a sudden, Sirius stopped. He lowered his head and sniffed. "Dragon dung," he growled, "your area of expertise, James."

James trotted up and sniffed the dung. "Male….about twenty-six thousand years old or in dragon years, twenty-six…Norwegian Ridgeback…"

"We know _that_, James-"

"_­_-_and_ it's fairly fresh. I would say that we're only about an hour behind."

"Let's go then!"

The four of them continued on their way at a fast pace. James ran up to be along side of Remus, "Why do you…keep…after this…girl…when she doesn't…seem to like you?" he panted.

"For the same reason you keep after Lily," he answered. Unlike James, Remus wasn't the least bit tired. The idea that they were getting closer to Mirri gave him energy.



The sun was coming up and Remus painfully changed back. He angrily got on to James' back and the four of them continued. With a suddenness that surprised them, they burst out into a large clearing. "Back up!"

Back in the shadow of the trees, the boys looked around. On the far side of the clearing was the entrance to a large cave.

"Peter," Remus whispered, "find out what's in there."

"No point, Remus," Sirius hissed, "Mirri's at the entrance and I can't smell the dragon anywhere."

"Fine, let's go."

Regardless of Sirius' statement, the boys were as quiet as possible. Coming up to the cave Remus gasped at the sight before him. Mirri was torn up, cut, bruised, and struggling to get up; her broken left arm causing her to moan with pain. Rushing forward, Remus took her in his arms as she attempted to speak. Remus bent his head to hear only "Trap."

He turned to Sirius who said, "Pull her into the trees, we're leaving."

Once out of the clearing, Sirius muttered, "Thirty seconds." A THUMP and a CRASH as braches broke was all the warning before the dragon touched down. He turned his head in the direction of the Marauders and…turned into a human!

"Can't go anywhere, boys," he erupted, "I knew you would come after her. And now _you_ are _mine_!"

He lunged at them, but didn't reach them before Sirius shouted, "Now!" and the five of them felt the familiar pull below the belly button, heard the strange man's shout of rage before they dropped on the floor in Dumbledore's office. Mirri totally lost consciousness and collapsed in Remus' arms.

Dumbledore rushed from behind his desk to help Remus place Mirri on the couch. "Well done, boys," he said, "twenty points to each of you. Now, stay here and relax while I go get Madame Pomfrey." And with that, he left the room.

Remus collapsed on the floor in front of the couch, grabbing hold of Mirri's limp hand. "H-he…was an Animagus?"

The boys sat there in a daze while they waited for Dumbledore to return.



One week later found the boys sitting around Mirri's bed in the hospital wing. She had just regained consciousness and was sitting up talking with them. "I don't know who he is. He just wanted me to get to you to kill you. That's all I know." Remus noticed that she didn't look anyone in the eye when she said this. _I don't think she's telling the whole truth_, he thought. He glanced up, "What?"

"I asked if you were alright." Mirri finally looked him in the eyes. Sirius and Peter both looked at each other and said, "Gotta go, lot's of homework and all that."

Sirius grabbed James who was about to protest, and the three of them left the hospital wing. The two were the only ones there; Madame Pomfrey having disappeared. Remus took a deep breath and looked away from Mirri, "He tried to kill you to get to us."

"Yeah," she said, "I don't remember much, but one thing sticks out. Remus, he's from the future. Like me."

Remus' head shot up, "That's not all you know, Mirri. You were lying; you know a lot more than you're letting on. Tell me."

Mirri grabbed his hand, causing Remus' heart skip a beat. Mirri was staring at their clasped hands as if she didn't know how that happened. She looked at Remus, "Do you trust me?" she asked.

Remus didn't even hesitate, "Of course." He wrapped his other hand around hers.

"Then trust me when I say that now is not the time to tell you. I don't know when, but when the right time comes, I'll tell you. Okay?" She looked at Remus, shocking him to see her eyes shining with tears. _I love her,_ he thought suddenly. _Regardless of how she feels about me._ Her chocolate brown eyes did nothing to help the situation, gazing at him with such trust. _We're just good friends to her. Probably why she's only telling me this, _he thought with a sinking heart, _I don't see why the others left, nothing's going to happen_.

Simultaneously, her thoughts were in the same concept. Here she was, sitting in front of him, holding his hands, and thinking how much she just wanted to lean forward and kiss him. _I've only been here for two months, so no feelings have probably come to him. I read the _Harry Potter_ books and I had fallen in love with him then. Now here he is in front of me and just as far as he was in the books. We're just friends. No further. He's going to grow up and be a wonderful man and I want to tell him the truth about the dragon and my feelings. But I'm just his charge. Dumbledore's order._

Remus coughed and stood up, "I should probably go," he said, "so you can rest."

"Right, rest. Not that I haven't already had a week of that."

Remus smiled slightly and placed a hand gently on her shoulder. "Don't worry. I'm sure you'll be up tormenting James within a few days."

Mirri gave an attempt at a smile. "Sure."

He left. Mirri rolled over and cried herself to sleep.


	6. Finding the Courage

Chapter 6

It was the last day before Christmas holidays and every student, fourth year and up, was excited. This year, Hogwarts put aside its normal, boring holiday traditions and was hosting the Christmas/New Year's Ball; held on December 28th. First, second, and third years were unable to attend without dates in the upper grades. Many of them were leaving on the train.

The Marauders and Mirri were staying, but Mirri almost wished she had somewhere to go. She usually spent Christmas with her family, and this year would be a different story-she would be spending it with her friends. It was times like these that she truly missed her family, but she needed to put that aside. Nothing was going to come of worrying about something she had not control over. So, on the last trip to Hogsmeade she purchased gifts for everyone (she found a pouch of gold at the bottom of her trunk) and dress robes for herself, insisted by and picked out with Lily Evans (although she didn't think she'd need them; no one had asked her to the Ball and the one person she really wanted to go with hadn't either).

Right at that moment, Mirri was doing her homework at one of the tables in the packed Gryffindor common room when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She looked up and smiled, "Hey Lily."

Lily sat down next to her. "Hey yourself. How can you be doing homework when we have just been let out for the Christmas holidays? That, right there is blasphemous. Unless, that dense idiot hasn't asked?"

Mirri sighed and put her quill down. "Let's face it; he's not going to. No one else has either. The Ball's in a week and I'm not going." She gathered all her books together, "I'm going to the library. Maybe, if I'm lucky, I can get this work done and start studying for my O.W.L.'s." She pushed her way through the crowd and out the portrait hole.

Lily watched her new found friend leave and then forced her way up to the boys' dormitory. Banging on the door, she barely waited for one of them to open the door before pushing her way in.

James, Sirius, and Peter had been playing Exploding Snap while Remus sat dejectedly at the window. "You ignorant _dog_!" she fumed at Remus, "How _thick_ are you?!" she forced herself to breathe. "You want to go with her; we all know you do. You pine for her like some sick Victorian age nobody. Did you ever think that maybe she wanted to go with you as well?" He saw his surprised look, "God, I didn't think so." She whirled around on the other three, "Haven't you three been trying _at all_?!"

"Yeah, Evans, we have," James said smoothly, placing a card on top of the tower, "But not in such a forceful way. Speaking of the dance…."

"The answer is _no_, Potter. And there is no possible way my decision will waver!" she turned back to Remus, "You're running out of time, Lupin. There have been several people asking me if she had a date and I keep having to steer them away because I'm hoping that maybe you'll find your balls and ask her. I suggest that you go to the library now where you'll find her, depressed, pining for you, and studying because she has nothing better to do!" And with that, she walked out, slamming the door behind her.

"Cheerful today isn't she?" James said to the stunned silence.

"Shut up, Prongs," Remus said getting up, "I'm going to do it."

"You found your balls already!" Sirius exclaimed, "I didn't know that Evans had them, James. I thought she had yours."

James and Remus gave Sirius a withering look before Remus walked out the door.



As he walked into the library, Madame Pince rushed up to him smiling, "Oh, my dear," she exclaimed, "it's wonderful that at least a few students actually so their homework ahead of time. Your friend, Ms. Libra, is already here. She's over at the north end." She pointed in that direction. "If you need anything, just let me know. But she seems to be in a bit of sad mood, Mr. Lupin. Try to cheer her up." and she walked away.

Remus took a deep breath and walked through the stacks until he found her, staring out the window at the falling snow. He tapped her on the shoulder and smiled as she looked up and gave him a small smile back. "Can I sit down?" he asked. She nodded slightly and moved the pile of books from the seat next to her. Remus sat down. "What are you working on?"

"Transfiguration," she muttered her eyes already back on her paper.

"Oh."

For ten minutes they sat there, Mirri working but not concentrating, with Remus next to her gathering his courage to ask a simple question. Finally, Mirri turned to him, "Are you just going to sit there or do you want something?" she demanded.

Remus jumped at the sound of her voice and muttered, "Nothing. Just checking on you. I'll, uh, let you get back to work." He got up and rushed away.

Mirri watched him leave and sighed, putting her chin in her hands. _I was right; he's not going to ask me_._ I don't understand what goes on through that boy's mind._



Remus pushed his way back up to his dormitory, opened the door, and was immediately pelted with questions.

"Did you ask?"

"Was it a yes?"

"_What happened?_"

He walked over to his four-poster and closed the curtains around him. The boys could hear a muffled, "I don't want to talk about it."

Sirius then shrugged, "Well, someone should ask her. If not you, _I_ will." He tried hard to keep his face straight when Remus yanked his curtains aside and glared daggers at him, "If you do that, I _swear_ I will kill you."

"Well then, better hurry up. I heard Felno was going to ask her…"

With a muffled curse Remus jumped off his bed and rushed out again.

James turned to Sirius after the door slammed shut, "Was Felno really going to ask her?"

Sirius smiled, "At first. So were Hinges and Densley."

"What did you do?"

"I steered them away. Made room for our 'Pining Victorian age noboby' as Evans so eloquently classified our resident werewolf. Now they have other dates. Hinges is going with Jones, Densley's going with Barns, and Felno's going with Evans."

There was a split second of silence before…

"_Felno_ is going with Lily?!" James exclaimed. "_She's_ going to the ball with _that_?!"

"Seems so," Sirius smirked.

"Why couldn't you just let him go with Mirri?" he whined.

Sirius gave him a dark look. "You know that Remus has to go with her, Prongs. Besides, I hate to tell you, but Evans won't go with you. She hates you."

"Maybe next year, James," Peter laughed.

James just stormed around the room, cursing Dan Felno under his breath.



As Remus hurried back towards the library, he wondered if he was too late. _I should have asked her weeks ago. I know now that she wants to go with me. Sort of. But if Felno asks her first, I don't know what I'll do._

He thrust the library doors open and rushed to the north end. To his shock, Mirri wasn't there. "Damn," he said under his breath and turned right back around. _This is just great_, he thought, _I finally come to ask her and she isn't where she was twenty minutes ago._

"If you're looking for Ms. Libra, she's outside," Madame Pince said suddenly as he dashed to the door, "look out the window."

Stopping mid-step, Remus looked out the indicated window. He could see the Quidditch Pitch and just make out the Gryffindor section where a black dot midway up-Mirri-appeared in the bright snow as Madame Pince had said.

"Thank-you!" he shouted as he ran out.

"Don't yell," the librarian smiled as she patted herself on the back for a job well done.

He quietly snuck outside onto the snow-covered field up to where Mirri sat. As he came up behind her, she spoke, "Whoever you are, go away. Can't anyone get a little privacy around this castle?"

Remus smiled, "Not in a very good mood, Mirri?"

Mirri whirled around at Remus. "What are you doing out here?"

"Funny, I was about to ask you the same question." He sat down next to her and looked at her tear streaked face. "Were you crying?" he asked with concern.

Mirri wiped her face off with her sleeve, "No…so what is it?"

"Nothing. Just wanted to see if you were okay. You seemed kind of upset earlier."

"Thanks for your concern. I'm fine."

"So says the crying girl." He looked at her, but she was steadfastly watching the snow fall. "I…was…wondering…" _Oh no, not now. I can't chicken out now. Just say it._ "Will you….um….go to the Ball with me?"

Mirri's head whirled around so fast, her neck creaked, "What did you say?" she whispered.

Remus laughed nervously, "I asked if you…wanted to go to the Ball with me." He was watching his feet and when Mirri didn't say anything he quickly began to backpedal, "You're probably already going with someone. It's alright to say no. I don't want you to think that I-"

A sudden pair of arms around his neck stopped his ranting, "No, I'm not," the surprisingly warm body whispered in his ear causing him to sink into it, "And yes, I will go with you; I only ever wanted to go with you." He just got his arms around her to return the hug when she let him go and smiled down at him. Getting up, she left the stadium.

Remus continued to sit there, grinning like mad. He had finally asked her, and she had accepted. He looked at his watch, got up, and went inside for dinner, smiling from ear to ear.



Christmas day awoke bright and snowy with a very elated Mirri waking with it. Today was beautiful. With one look at the end of the bed, the day just got better; a dozen presents awaited her attention. She grabbed one and opened it up to find that it was from Lily-the promised silver jewelry set for her dress robes. Mirri giggled; Lily was a great friend.

With a frenzy unknown to her, she opened the rest of her assorted gifts with giggles of glee and gasps of happiness before sitting back for a few minutes and savoring the fact that she had friends here that loved her. Then she looked around again; there wasn't a present from Remus. Maybe she missed it? One more look proved otherwise; there was not gift. She sat back; even James had gotten her something, miniscule as it was. She got off her bed and pulled a present out from under it; this was the present from her to him that she was going to give him later. The gift was an enchanted ring that gave the wearer the ability to see the truth when a person lied to them. A Foend Ring it was called. In the shape of the moon, she thought it would fit him (she hoped it did). Maybe he was thinking of giving her his gift later as well? _But m__aybe he isn't going to give me anything._ She pushed the thought from her mind and rushed downstairs. Everyone was there-James, Peter, Lily, Sirius, and Remus-along with the rest of Gryffindor. She hugged Lily tightly and whispered, "That was too much."

"Not for a friend," she whispered back. "Happy Christmas!" she said louder.

"You, too," Mirri responded, "and Merry Christmas to all of you!"

"Happy Christmas, Mirri," Peter said, "Do you want breakfast? It's been served up here today."

"Love to. I'm famished." She dove in with the rest of her friends.



Overall, Christmas day was wonderful. At noon the Marauders, Lily, and Mirri went outside with some other Gryffindors and had a massive snowball fight while later that evening, the six of them sat around the fire in the common room and drank hot chocolate. Everyone, that is, except Mirri.

"Don't you want any?" James asked, being uncharacteristically friendly.

"Yes, but-"

"Well here."

"I can't. I don't like chocolate," Mirri muttered.

"_What_?!" James, Peter, and Sirius exclaimed.

"You don't like chocolate? _At all?!_" Peter asked in disbelief.

"No, she doesn't," Lily snapped, "Get over it."

"I didn't know that," Remus said, catching Mirri's eye.

"No one except Lily knew, and she found out on accident."

"How 'bout some hot tea instead?" Lily asked, "Ignore the unyielding, testosterone losers of the human race."

"Thanks," she laughed as the boys looked wounded at Lily. She took the mug Lily offered her. Yawning and stretching, she smiled at the others, "And thanks to all of you."

"For what?" Sirius asked.

"For making my first Christmas without my family absolutely wonderful."

"That's what we're here for, Mirri," Lily said, hugging her around the shoulders. "Come on, it's getting late. I'm tired and you're tired. We'll see you boys in the morning."

"Good night, guys," Mirri said heading towards the stairs, tripping on the way.

The boys sat and listened as the two girls went upstairs, giggling.

Remus turned to Sirius, "You lied to me," he said.

"What time would are you referring to?" Sirius asked with a mischievous grin on his face.

"Felno asked _Lily_ to the Ball," he said.

"Only after I stopped him from asking Mirri. I didn't _quite _lie to you and it got you to ask her didn't it?" he replied. Then he laughed, "You should have seen the look on your face when I said that. If looks could kill, we'd all look like Professor Binns!" He rolled on the floor howling with laughter. James and Peter were grinning, too.

"Well, thanks," Remus said sheepishly.

"At least _one_ of us is going with the person they want to," James muttered.

"Not true," Peter said, "I asked Treena Roberts from Ravenclaw last month and she said she would go with me."

"Yeah, me, too," Sirius replied, "except I asked Alina Nelson two weeks ago."

"I don't believe it!" James exclaimed exasperatedly, "I might as well ask Moaning Myrtle to go!"

"I'm sure she wouldn't mind," Remus said smirking.

"Shut up, Remus," James grumbled.

"Hurry up, Potter," Sirius laughed, draping an arm across his shoulders. "But, you know… I think Rachel is still available."

"She is? No one's asked her?" James sat up.

"She's only said no to everyone," Pete replied.

"Then I'll ask her first thing tomorrow."

"Ah, wittle James got his Chwistmas wish after all," Sirius cooed. "A date."

James threw a pillow at him.

"Regardless," Remus grinned, "It still was a great Christmas."


	7. The Ball

Chapter 7

Three hours before the Ball was to begin, Lily and Mirri were in the latter's room getting ready. Both were giggly and excited; Mirri more nervous than anything else.

"Lily, how come you are so rude to James?" Mirri spontaneously asked; this question had been bothering her for come time. "He really likes you."

Lily hesitated before saying, "To be honest, I like him, too. But he is such a pompous git right now, I'm just going to wait until he grows out of it." She sighed as she painted Mirri's nails. "Of course, he might not."

"He asked you to the Ball. Why d'you say no?"

"Felno had asked weeks ago. Maybe next year if his head deflates a little more."

Mirri laughed, "Sounds good."



It was two 'til eight and the girls were still upstairs. Remus was sitting with Dan Felno in the common room both unable to really strike up any conversation. The other boys had gone to get their dates and were going to wait for them in the entrance hall.

"Girls," Felno said suddenly, breaking Remus out of his thoughts, "they do take forever, don't they?"

"Oh, um…yeah."

Fifteen minutes later they heard a sound coming.

"Finally!" Felno said, getting up.

Remus stood up as well, wiping his suddenly sweaty palms on his robes when Lily emerged. She looked brilliant in dress robes of purple satin with her hair pulled up in a loose knot. She smiled at Felno, winked at Remus, then turned around and pulled Mirri out. Remus was at a loss for words and couldn't help but gape. She was wearing robes of aqua marine that shimmered as she walked. Her hair was curled, half up, half down, two curls framing her face and a small silver tiara on her head. She was blushing furiously at the stares she received from him.

"What?"

"Nothing, you just look amazing is all," he said shaking his head, "um...shall we head down to the Ball?"

Mirri flushed happily as she followed.

Felno and Lily led the way. Mirri had her arm linked lightly with Remus' and she looked everywhere but at him. _He looks so handsome_, she thought, _navy blue looks really good on him_.

Remus kept stealing glances at her. He couldn't help but notice how pretty she looked and how the robes hugged every curve of her body. He silently scolded himself, _stop it Lupin. Just stop_. But he was a teenage boy, and those thoughts were only natural, so he couldn't stop allowing his gaze to drift to his date.

"She cleans up nicely, doesn't she?" Lily asked. Remus looked up to find her grinning at him and Mirri flushed cutely beside him.

"Stop it, Lily," she said. "It's not _that_ drastic of a change."

"You _do_ look nice," Remus reassured her.

"My gift is so under-appreciated," Lily sighed at Felno.

"Oh, no, it's extremely appreciated," Remus remarked, giving Mirri another healthy glance without her knowledge.

As they entered the Great Hall, they met up with the other handsomely-dressed Marauders and their beautiful dates. Sirius pointed out that Dumbledore was able to get the hottest witch band-Flyaway.

"Who?" Mirri asked curiously, tapping her foot to the song they were currently playing.

"Flyaway!" Peter exclaimed, "Trust me, you'll learn to love 'em."

Rachel, Alina, Treena, and Lily grabbed Mirri and the five of them hit the dance floor. Alina and Rachel taught the others the latest dance moves (the two of them were dancers) and the boys grabbed a table. They sat and watched as the girls giggled breathlessly as they danced, having the time of their lives and quickly finding a similar beat. James kept his eyes on a particular person.

"Looks nice, doesn't she?" Sirius asked, noticing whom James was watching.

"I want to steal a dance. But I don't know if I should," he said.

"Go for it. We all know you want to," Peter said smirking.

"Alright. But…I think I'll wait 'til later."

Fifteen minutes later, the girls finally sat down, breathless and flushed. Dinner had just appeared and the five couples relaxed and ate.

"This is like prom in America," Mirri said around a mouthful of food. "Instead of a ball, we call it prom. I had always wanted to go; I'm so excited that we're having one here!"

Remus smiled at her and reached over to squeeze her hand. The others grinned as Mirri hesitantly smiled back.

During dinner, Flyaway stopped playing. Now that dinner was over, the couples went back out on the dance floor dancing in groups then finally just with their dates. Without warning (and a really bad transition), the music slowed and a lilting song started. Mirri went to pull away to sit back down but Remus smiled and pulled her back. "Afraid of a dance?" he asked with a strange look in his eye.

"Actually, yes," she said looking at the ground, "I've never done one like this."

"Then let me show you how," he put one of her hands on his shoulder and hesitated before putting a hand on her waist. He then took her free hand in his and gently led her. Mirri looked at their clasped hands instead of his face. As he swept them through a graceful twirl Mirri couldn't help but be impressed, _He's really good_.

"You're catching on quickly," he whispered into her ear. Mirri then realized that during the beginning of the song, the two of them had danced steadily closer. Remus watched her as he noticed her nervousness. That gave him more confidence than he truly knew what to do with. (A/N: this starts out kind or stupid, but he becomes bolder. He seems to be feeding on her nervousness and the fact that he knows somewhat that she feels the same way about him). Moving the hand in his to wrap around his neck, he placed both of his around her waist and held her closer; so close, in fact, he could feel her temperature rising and her heart beat steadily getting faster against his chest.

Mirri hesitated before gently resting her head on his shoulder, a million thoughts flooding into her mind. Only one called for attention. _This feels right._

The song drew to a close and Remus gently pulled Mirri outside, his confidence the only reason that he was able to do it. Alone time with her would be a blessing; and possibly a chance to cool down. Her warmth was intoxicating. Snow sparkled on the bushes and trees and fireflies (as Mirri thought) danced their way through the gardens. Mirri picked one up and commented in cute naiveté, "I thought fireflies weren't around this time of year."

Remus walked up and took the firefly from her hand and gently placed it back on the bush, "A tradition and one of Dumbledore's secrets. Although these aren't fireflies; they're fairies."

Mirri gasped, "_Real_ fairies?!"

Remus laughed, "Of course. Don't be so shocked. He spoke (and I say that broadly) with the fairies and they agreed to light our Ball in exchange for something that no one knows about."

Mirri walked towards a bush under the pretense of watching the little lighted beings. Pulling out a small wrapped present from the folds of her robes, she took a deep breath and turned around, the gift held gently in the embrace of her fingers. "Remus—" She stopped with a quick intake of breath as she realized he was right behind her with a similar gift in his hands.

Remus smiled and took the present out of her hands and placed another in them. "Answers a lot of questions, doesn't it?"

"Yes," she said, "you first." She watched with anticipation as he opened the gift and inwardly rejoiced at the shocked expression on his face.

"Where did you get this?" he gasped, "They're supposed to be really hard to find." He pulled the ring out with an awed look on his face.

"Sorry," she said, not meaning it at all, "I don't reveal my secrets."

Placing the ring on his middle finger he gave it one more appreciative look. "Fair enough," he said gesturing for her to sit with him on the bench, "Your turn." He draped his arm casually on the bench behind her as he waited patiently for her to open her gift.

_There's something 'bout the way you look tonight._

_There's something 'bout the way that_

_I can't take my eyes off you._

She gasped. There, on a bed of velvet, was a silver necklace. It had a charm in the shape of a wolf with amber stones for eyes. But the thing that was really amazing was the fact that the charm was _moving_. Raising its head, the wolf silently howled at the moon.

Mirri let the wrapping paper fall out of her hands as she stared in disbelief that the gorgeous necklace. Her mind was a jumble of unintelligible thoughts the main one was constantly: _This is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. This is the most-_

A hand on the back of her neck and an anxious "Mirri?" caused her to look up in the concerned eyes of Remus.

She immediately threw her arms around his neck. "Thank you _so_ much," she whispered in his ear, "it's beautiful. I don't know what to say." She then surprised herself by kissing him on the cheek.

_There's something 'bout the way your lips invite_

_Maybe it's the way that_

_I get nervous when you're around._

_And I want you to be mine._

Remus' senses honed in on the point of impact. _She kissed me. She kissed me!_ His train of thought flew out the window, "Um, why don't I…help you put it on?" he lamely offered. All of his confidence left now that she initiated contact. He was just a bundle of nerves.

"Alright," she meekly replied. She reached up a pulled off the necklace Lily gave her and moved her hair out of the way.

Remus took the wolf necklace out of the box and gently draped it around her neck with shaking hands. The smooth curve of her neck begged to be kissed, and it took all he had not to comply. Once the necklace was clasped, he set in softly against her skin and breathed in the scent radiating from her. She shivered.

"Are you cold?" he asked, immediately regretting it due to his voice jumping several octaves within the question. He knew he couldn't trust it.

_And if you need a reason why._

_It's in the way that you move me,_

_And the way that you tease me._

_The way that I want you tonight._

Either Mirri didn't hear it or she chose to ignore it. "A little," she responded, then added hastily, "but I don't want to go inside," she blushed, "Not yet, anyway."

_It's in the way that you hold me,_

_And the way that you know me._

_And when I can't find the right words to say_

_You feel it in the way._

Remus didn't want to go inside either. He enjoyed the quiet of the garden with her, with the occasional rustle of a bush effectively reminding them that they weren't completely alone. It was better than in the ballroom under the watchful and expectant gazes of James, Sirius, and Peter who kept throwing meaningful glances at him and Mirri.

"I've enjoyed tonight," Mirri said suddenly.

"You have?" Remus asked, then added with more confidence, "It's not over, you know."

_There's something 'bout how you scale the mind._

_There's something 'bout the way that_

_I whisper your name when I'm asleep, oh, girl!_

She smiled, "Yes, I know. But I wanted to thank you now anyway." She turned to him. "All of you have made me feel really welcome here. Especially you, and not including James. All of you have taught me a lot. If I hadn't befriended you, and if Dumbledore hadn't ordered you to take care of me, I think that my life and classes would be so boring…"

"Even with us, Binns' class is boring," he smirked, knowing fully well that she was going to argue. Here it came…

"I can't believe you still say that, Remus! Honestly, the way you and the others go on about it," she fumed, glaring defiantly at him, "history is one of the most fascinating subjects. Without it, the wizarding world would have no foundation. The discoveries, the wars, the goblin rebellions-"

"Are the most boring part," he egged her on with a grin. Mirri glared at him, getting into her debate attitude (it was one of his favorite moods).

_Maybe it's the looks you get in your eyes._

_Oh, baby, it's the way that_

_It makes me feel to see you smile._

"They are the most-one of the most-important parts of wizarding history! Our relationship with goblins wouldn't be where it is today without the result of what we learned during those rebellions!" Remus noted the pink tint to her cheeks and the shine in her eyes from the heat of the debate (kind of one-sided, but who's complaining?) and he couldn't take his eyes off her as she rambled on. "Without history, but you plainly don't see the significance and the importance of it, we wouldn't live in such an advanced society that we live in. Why, if we-"

_And the reasons, they may change._

_But what I'm feeling stays the same._

Her speech ended with a muffled shout of confusion. Remus had put his hand over her mouth and the other hand on her cheek. He was grinning, "If I don't stop you now, you're never going to shut up." He moved his hand and held her face, memorizing every detail as if he had never seen her before. For once, she was speechless.



Mirri shivered under that gaze, slightly scared and partly thrilled at what she saw there. The hands that held her face were warm and gentle and she took the time he used to watch her to observe him. He was still smiling, but it wasn't as mocking as it had been a few moments before. Now it was sweet. Finally finding her voice she began, "Remus-"

She was cut off again by Remus pulling her face towards his and kissing her passionately.

_I can't put my fingers on_

_Just what it is that makes me love you. You, baby!_

After the initial shock wore off, Mirri's mind abandoned all thought save one, _I wish this had happened a long time ago_. And then that thought, too, was gone as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back just as passionately. As her first kiss, she thought she was doing pretty well, holding her own. His hands moved to her waist and pulled her closer, deepening the kiss as he did. Parting her lips slightly, she felt his breath rush in as she simultaneously entangled her fingers in his hair. Tentatively it seemed, he touched her bottom lip with his tongue. Her consent came out as a pathetic sounding moan (to her ears) before he entered. Remus' mouth was sweet; she hadn't expected that.

_So don't ask me to describe._

_I'll get all choked up inside._

_Just thinking 'bout the way._

Finally, the two of them needed to breathe. They were reluctant to part to do so, but part they did. Mirri saw that Remus' breath was as ragged as her own, and was pleased to see that she could do that to him. She bit her lip, reliving the last few minutes over in her mind. She was unbelievable happy and a chill went up her spine, making her shiver.

His arm snaked around her waist and pulled her closer. Pulling her feet up, she leaned her head back against his chest and felt him sigh happily against her back. Looking up at him, she saw him smiling down at her.

_There's something 'bout the way you look tonight._

_There's nothing more to say than,_

_I feel it in the way._

This time, she needed to start the contact. Mirri put her hand on the side of his face and kissed him. The arm around her waist tightened while his other hand held her face gently in its warm grip.



The two were so involved with each other, that they didn't notice the nosy friends that started to surround them. Wondering what had happened to them a half hour ago, James, Sirius, Peter, Lily and their dates went in search for them.

Needless to say, they found them, though each reaction was different from the others. The girls nearly shrieked with happiness for Mirri, but with effort kept quiet. Each of them had a look of happiness and slight enviousness for their friend's good fortune.

The boys were indeed happy for Remus (for he seemed to be having a good time), but that was beneath some of the other emotions that played over their faces.

Sirius was just trying hard not to laugh out loud. _He _was happy all right. Happy the two had finally _done_ something; he was starting to get frustrated. Now he didn't have to watch both of them pining away for each other or sigh heavily when either one left the room. It was maddening!

Peter and James had the same look on their faces: pure shock. One, because they didn't think Remus was actually going to _do_ anything. Two, because he had actually given Mirri the gift (they were there when Remus bought it, though he didn't know it at the time and were placing bets on whether or not he would give it to her). And three, because Remus, _Remus_! Mr. Prefect-always-follow-the-rules-and-don't-do-anything-rash was making out with Mirri Libra (Ms. Clumsy-bite-your-head-off-for-breaking-the-rules) on the bench; the least thing either of them could have done was find a bush for decency's sake.

Dan Felno had a look of jealousy. He liked Lily and all, but he had wanted to go to the Ball with Mirri; he really liked her. But Sirius had all but threatened him when he expressed interest in Mirri. How Sirius had known he was going to ask her was beyond him. Now, he was staring at a scene straight from a romance novel where he _really_ wished he was the main male character.

"Hey, Evans!" James hissed, "Want to follow the example from our prefect and find a bush?"

Lily's giggles didn't cease as she flicked him off before continuing her furiously whispered conversation with the other girls. The boys realized they were on the brink of discovery by their nearly explosive laughter, so they took the girls inside where they finally let their laughter loose, each of them laughing so hard, Alina and Treena weren't the only ones with hiccups. But the Great Hall was so noisy, no one but their dates noticed anything.



Mirri and Remus had finally unlocked their lips and were sitting there enjoying each other's company.

"You know," Remus said, rubbing her arms to keep her warm, "I've been wanting to kiss you like that for a long time now. Ever since the last time-"

"Last time?" Mirri asked, shifting her position so that she could look at him. She wasn't angry, merely curious, but Remus shifted under her gaze as if she was.

"Oh, yeah…well…" he stammered, "I, uh, kinda took advantage of the fact that you were asleep. And, er…"

"When was this?"

"The night you showed us your Animagus form. When we, er, fell asleep on the couch…" his voice trailed off.

Mirri gave him a look of mock seriousness. "Well, Mr. Lupin, I don't think you should take advantage of a helpless girl in her sleep." She smirked slyly and gave him a blinding kiss, "Try it while I'm awake."

Remus laughed when he regained his breath and kissed her back. She settled back in his arms and he wrapped his hands around hers.

"Know what?" Mirri said, looking around, "I'm rather surprised that the guys haven't come yet. I assumed they would."

Remus filled with dread at her words. He had completely forgotten about the others. They were probably cooking up some way to get him; he knew they were going to grill him when he went up to the dormitory later. Remus looked at his watch and his eyes widened in shock. IT was half past eleven already! _Where did all the time go? _he thought,_ we only have a half hour left!_ He stood and started to pace.

"What's wrong?" Mirri asked, startled that Remus had jumped up so suddenly.

"Do you realize that there is only thirty minutes left?" he asked.

Her eyes widened.

"And do you also realize that the guys haven't been seen since we were in there?"

"Now that you mention it…"

"They're up to something," he concluded darkly, "I just know it."

Mirri stood up as well, "Remus. Stop and look at me." He stopped pacing and stood still in front of her. She came up to him and wrapped her arms around his waist; "Maybe they aren't up to anything. Maybe, just maybe, they decided to leave you alone for once."

Remus didn't believe it, but he automatically wrapped his own arms around her; he liked being able to hold her.

"Remus?"

He looked down at her and kissed her nose. "Maybe. Let's go inside."

She sighed. "Alright."



Remus led Mirri up the stairs to the common room, _Might as well head up there now_, he thought,_ if I can avoid them as well._

As they entered the common room, they realized they were alone. _Entirely_ alone.

"I, uh," Mirri stammered, seeming suddenly shy, "I had a lot of fun tonight."

Remus took her hand, made a fancy bow over it, and kissed it, "Me, too."

Mirri giggled and curtsied, "I will see you tomorrow. Good night."

She turned to walk away, but Remus pulled her back into his embrace. "Good night."

"Good night," she whispered. She kissed him on the cheek before starting to walk away again.

Remus pulled her back yet again, but this time, said a real good night. The kiss was deeper and more passionate than any of the other earlier that night. Mirri wrapped her arms around his neck as he held her close. He rubbed small circles on the small of her back and wished the night to never end. Mirri made his heart complete, and she didn't know how happy she was making him right now. He loved her.

Thinking that gave him a thrill, just as it did the first time he realized it. He loved her. He _loved her_ with all of his heart. He didn't quite know how he had lived before she came into his life because she made life worth living. Wishing this passionate kiss wouldn't end, and knowing there would be plenty more to come, he pulled away as he heard people leaving the Ball to head up to their respective common rooms.

"Good night," Mirri said for the final time. Then she disappeared up the girls' staircase in a swish of skirts.

"Good night," Remus sighed as he slowly made his way up to his dormitory.

**A/N: This chapter featured "The Way" from Clay Aiken's CD **_**Measure of a Man**_**. I neither own his songs, nor do I own J.K. Rowling's characters, places, or events. The only characters I own are Alina, Rachel, Treena, and Mirri as of now. I should have said that a while ago, but better late than never! . Thanks for reviewing! And if you haven't, you need to. Hope you enjoyed! ;P**


	8. Grillings and Comprehension

Chapter 8

Mirri opened the door to her room and was grabbed by four pairs of manicured hands and thrust in a chair. The elated and giggly faces of Lily, Alina, Treena, and Rachel surrounded her as they sat on the floor, heedless of the costly fabric of their dress robes and looking at her with expectation.

"Well…" Lily prompted. Mirri had an impression of a child being told that Christmas had come twice that year.

"'Well' what?" Mirri inquired innocently, her face a perfect mask of indifference. Her and Remus and come to a silent agreement not to share with the others about the details of their evening together. Little did she know that they were already _quite_ aware of what occurred.

"You and Remus disappeared after the first slow dance and we haven't seen you in several hours," Rachel prodded, giving her a meaningful raise of an eyebrow.

Despite what she told herself _not_ to do, Mirri flushed, remembering all that had happened, which included the passionate kiss just downstairs.

The girls had a pretty good idea what was floating through their friend's mind, and they were going to find out, even if it took all night.

"Mirri, you owe it to us. We really want to know," Alina whined prettily, "Watching is one thing, but juicy details are so much better."

"Alina!" Treena shrieked as Mirri's eyes widened in shock.

Alina blushed, "Damn, sorry."

"'Watching?'" Mirri exclaimed, her face steadily blending into the red tapestry behind her, "You _saw_ us?!"

"Yes," Lily took control of the situation, "you weren't supposed to know, but in our defense, you two weren't entirely subtle about it."

Mirri had never been so embarrassed. Taking a deep breath, she tried to control her anger at the girls and the rationality that they were going to find out eventually, why not now? "So, you guys _did_ show up. The damage is done, I guess."

"We didn't want to interrupt you," Rachel said. "You two looked so cute!"

"Thanks for the consideration," Mirri muttered.

"We want to know everything!" Lily exclaimed, with echoes from the others, "What he said, who kissed who first, his hand gestures, everything!"

"Why, so you can break down every detail? No thanks, girls," she grinned and yawned, "I can't. It's a little too personal, but I will give you a general outline in the morning.

"Alright, then," Lily said, "But we're staying here tonight."

Mirri laughed, "I figured."

Putting on pajamas and climbing into the bed and trundle Alina brought, the girls fell asleep fairly quickly. Mirri stayed awake staring at the ceiling, running her fingers lightly over her lips, reminiscing happily.



As Mirri was being grilled, Remus made his way to his dormitory, in a twinge of pain, but never made it to the door. The guys were standing outside it with arms crossed and knowing looks on their faces.

"'Bout time," Felno bit, his expression hostile.

Remus looked at him incredulously "Are you _angry _with me, Dan? What have I done to you?"

"Ignore him," James waved airily, "He's suffering from unrequited love and jealousy. We have, on the other hand, _much_ to talk about."

"You have a crush on Mirri?" Remus asked around James, though now that he thought about it, it was pretty obvious. The pain was now a dull throb.

"Not that it's any of your business, but yes," Felno spat.

"If it's about Mirri, then it is my business," Remus spat back. His hands, burning already with pain, tightened with the need to hit something.

"Gentlemen," Sirius stepped in between, "I riveting as this conversation is, I think we should move it inside."

"If you two are now an item," Felno demanded getting into Remus' face, ignoring Sirius and his attempt at mediation, "then I suggest you take care of her. Because I will be right there when you slip up."

"Then you'll be waiting a long time, Dan," he replied calmly. "I thank you for your concern, but it's unnecessary."

Felno gave a snort and stalked off.

A moment of silence passed before Sirius whistled. "Very nice, Moony. Now let's get inside and discuss more important things."

Remus wearily made his way to his bed and sat down, pulling out a bottle of cream from his bedside drawer and methodically applying it to his red hands.

"What happened?" Sirius snorted, getting a good look at the huge, fluid-filled blisters adorning Remus' digits, "Did you make Mirri mad?"

Remus gave a small intimate smile at the memory of what occurred, "No. Messing with some silver."

Three pairs of eyebrows shot up. "Why the hell would you do that, Remus?" Peter questioned.

Remus shrugged, thinking about the look on Mirri's face and his internal happiness increased, "It was worth it. What were you guys up to?" he avoided answering.

"We were there," James began without preamble.

Remus looked up, "You were _what_?!"

"You two seemed like you were enjoying yourselves," Peter continued.

"How-"

"_Lot_ of lip action going on," Sirius smirked, "You obviously slipped in the tongue. Did you get a good feel?"

Remus glared. "Sirius-"

"We are a little disappointed that you weren't discreet," James finished.

"I don't have to tell you guys anything," Remus crossed his arms face flushing, "That's none of your business either. What happens between Mirri and I stays that way."

"That means 'yes' to my question," Sirius cheered, "You did, didn't you? You dirty old beast!"

"You're relentless!" Remus stormed, "Why the hell were you spying on us anyway?"

"I said that you weren't very subtle," James said. "Anyone could have seen you two."

"God, I don't have to talk about this! So I won't; good night!" And with that, Remus slammed the curtains of his four-poster shut, wincing as he did as the blisters ruptured.



Mirri couldn't sleep anymore. With the light snoring coming from four extremely warm bodies, sleep wasn't even an option. Wanting to cool down and needed to have the quiet only given when alone, Mirri went down to the common room.

The house elves had kept the fire going, dispelling the chill and allowing Mirri to sit comfortably on the couch with her thoughts. So deep in memory bliss was she that the presence in the room went unnoticed until it spoke:

"Did you have a nice evening, cousin?"

Mirri leapt up and whirled at the man's voice. Her eyes widened.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she hissed, "How dare you come into my life and ruin it. So don't you _dare_ call me 'cousin,' for you are no family of mine."

"So cold, my dear," he drawled casually, "You _are_ my cousin, whether you like it or not even if it is third cousin by marriage. But cousin nonetheless." As he spoke, he steadily made his way toward her. Mirri backed up until she hit the wall on the far side of the room, cursing herself for leaving her wand in her room; he still stalked forward. "I just came to see if you were alive and well." His eyes traveled lazily down her frame and he smiled at her shiver of disgust. "I can see that you are both. And I want to ask if you've passed along my little message?"

From the reluctant question behind the anger, he knew the answer. He stood in front of her and ran one long finger down her cheek. Mirri struggled to not move. "I guess the charm hasn't worn off yet. Pity," he leaned forward and whispered in her ear, his breath stale, "I'll just have to come a visit you again, then. Have fun while you can, my little cousin. Your friends don't have much time left." He chuckled at her gasp and ran the same finger across her collarbone while pulling out his wand with his other hand. "And to prevent you sharing our little encounter with your boyfriend, just as a precaution…" tapping her between the eyes with an "_Obliviate_" he then left.

Mirri's eyes went blank and when they came into focus again, she looked confused at her surroundings before going back upstairs. Later, she would remember it only as a vague nightmare.



"Mirri? Mirri, wake up," a voice said in her dreams, "Damn girl, how long can you sleep?"

Mirri struggled to open her eyes. "What time is it?" she asked groggily.

"Quarter past noon," Rachel replied, hopping on the bed.

"_What_?" she exclaimed, shooting up, "Why didn't you guys try to get me up?"

"We tried," Alina stated dryly, "You just growled at us."

Mirri winced, thinking that maybe her Animagus was having more of an effect on her than she thought, "Sorry," she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and gave them a look, "So, I'm assuming I'm going to get the story about your nights, right?"

"Well…" Treena started, throwing Lily a glance, "It was more fun for some of us. _Some_one didn't dance with her partner only."

Lily blushed. "I was asked. I couldn't say no to them. Besides," she crossed her arms defensively, "Felno didn't protest against it. And it's my right to dance with whom I choose."

"She danced with Potter," Treena stated bluntly.

"You did?!" Mirri squealed, excitedly, "That's _great_!"

"Three times," Alina added, watching in amusement as Lily blushed as red as Mirri did the night before.

"_Fantastic_!" Mirri shrieked happily.

"_Please_ don't make a big deal out of this," Lily begged, "What are you doing?" she asked as Mirri jumped off the bed and rummaged through her trunk.

"Getting dressed," came the response as she pulled out clothes, "You don't honestly that I want to hear just one side of the story, do you?"

"I think she just wants to see Remus," Rachel said.

Mirri paused at the door, "Post Ball stories are the best. I'm surprised that all of you haven't discovered that yet. Care to join me downstairs for a question and answer session?"

Without waiting, she rushed out.



The Marauders were sitting in the common room waiting for the eventual arrival of their dates. Remus had gotten over his frustration and was busy participating finding out the series of events from the others. James was just beginning his long, exaggerated epic tale of the night:

"I just walked up to her, casual as you please," he boasted, "and requested the honor of the next dance. I-"

"Stammered it like you had a speech impediment, 'Smore like it," Sirius snickered. "I think she said yes out of pity, if you ask me."

About to protest, James whipped around at the sound of his name coming from the girl's staircase.

The expressions of James and Remus were so priceless at the sound of Mirri's voice, it Sirius and Peter took all they could to keep straight faces. James looked so apprehensive that one wrong move would send him running through the window. Remus, on the other hand, looked like a happy puppy, all that was missing was the wagging tail.

Mirri came behind the couch where Remus and James were sitting and placed her hand on Remus' shoulder, smiling just as happily at him. He placed a hand over hers, squeezed her fingers, and winked. She giggled.

A pointed coughed brought the two back to earth. "Right," Mirri started, "James, I want to talk with you." Gesturing to the window seat across the room, she said, "Over there, if you please."

James got up slowly and walked over to the window. Mirri, noticing the blisters on Remus' hand bent down and whispered in his ear, "Explain to me later exactly what happened to your hands." Kissing his temple gently, she walked away, leaving Remus quivering with happy shivers.

Once Mirri sat down, Peter, Sirius, and Remus waited in anticipation for the yelling to start. No matter what the two were talking about, shouting, curses, and/or foul language was always the outcome. But Mirri just started talking.

"So what happened?" she asked.

James was taken aback by the simple question. He was half expecting her to erupt at him for some unknown reason for something he didn't know he had done. So the only thing that came out of his mouth was: "Er…"

Mirri rolled her eyes in mock irritation and spoke to him as if he were a child. Complete with hand motions. "What happened last night with Lily at the Ball." She spoke normally afterwards, "I can go ask the others if you are a little hazy on the details."

Snapping out of his stupor, he exclaimed, "No! No need," and began to inflate with the retelling of his conquest. Mirri slapped him in the arm.

"I just want the facts, not the Odyssey, Prongs," she laughed.

Looking slightly deflated, he carried on, "Alright. Well, Evans was standing over at her table, waiting for Felno to get back with drinks. Rachel was dancing with some Hufflepuff guy, so I kinda took advantage of that and walked up to her and asked if she wanted to dance the next number with me. And she-"

"There was no _way_ you were able to ask her straight," Mirri interrupted, echoing Sirius' interruption earlier.

He glared at her and sighed, "You're right, okay? I did stammer."

"That's what I thought. Go on," she sat back and hugged her knees to her chest.

"Okay, so we danced. She had accepted. Nothing really happened. But I danced with her a couple more times after that."

Mirri grinned at him, "It's about time. I was wondering how long it was going to take you to stop being a total git to her and do something about your feelings maturely.



Sirius, Peter, and Remus sat in amazement as Mirri and James lounged at the window talking. They were _talking_! That was beyond remarkable for those two, the two who could barely look at each other without trying to hex the others face off. They had never had a proper discussion before, not even about the weather.

Until now, that is. They seemed almost like (dare they say it?) _friends_. The three of them exchanged worried glances, knowing pretty well that this congeniality wouldn't last long.

But it did. In fact, a few minutes later Mirri and James walked back over. Sirius gaped, "But-"

James raised an eyebrow at Mirri while she rolled her eyes in return, "I didn't think it was that unbelievable. We don't hate each other."

"Just extremely irritated with one another," James supplied with a nod from Mirri and taking his seat back on the couch.

Mirri walked around to the front of the couch and sat down next to Remus, who wrapped his arms around her.

Before the others could say anything about the seating arrangement, they heard voices coming from the stairs. Rachel, Treena, Alina, and Lily emerged while the Marauders looked up in alarm, not knowing that the girls had stayed. Getting comfortable on the floor, Lily spoke, "I let them in last night, guys, don't worry."

"Why did they stay?" Peter asked, fiercely loyal to his House security.

"We had pressing questions just as much as you did," Alina said, but was looking at Mirri and Remus meaningfully.

Rebelliously, Mirri kissed the knuckles wrapped around her and set about soothing the sweltering blisters on Remus' hands with his ointment that he brought out. Remus laughed and kissed her ear.

"We really need more details," Rachel demanded.

Remus tore his gaze from Mirri, "You were there. There's nothing for us to tell that you don't already know."

"There was one question I asked that you didn't answer, Remus," Sirius remarked, "and I am pretty curious to know the answer. But I will save you the humiliation of asking again. Just a simple yes or no with suffice."

Mirri paused his her treatment to look between Sirius and Remus. The latter was glaring horribly. "What-?"

"Don't worry about it," Remus said, not taking his harsh gold eyes from Sirius, "Because I am _not_ answering it."

"But what was the question?" she demanded.

"It's probably a typical Sirius question, Mirri," Alina groaned, "Just think about it."

Realization dawned in Mirri's eyes and she turned her own gaze to the sick Marauder. "You're perverted, Black! Why the hell do you think Remus was do something like that to me?"

Everyone laughed, including Sirius. "Just wondering," he answered innocently. Mirri threw a couch pillow at him and missed terribly.

"I think that's our cue to leave," Treena stated. "I think the new lovebirds have been questioned enough."

The others agreed and before Remus and Mirri knew it, they were alone in the common room.

"You would think they had Disapparated," she laughed, finished with the ointment on his hands and now just fiddling with his fingers gently.

"Mmhmm," he responded in her hair, his warm breath tickling her neck.

"So tell me what happened," she said softly, rather concerned that he did something dangerous.

"Your necklace."

Mirri pulled away and fixed him with a look. "My necklace. The one you gave me? How could that have done this to you?"

Remus smiled at her confusion and kissed her on the nose. "What's it made of?"

"What do you mean what is it made of, you know precisely-" Comprehension flicked across her vision. "Oh, Remus." Her hand automatically clutched around the charm at her neck. "You mean to tell me that you bought me a silver necklace, knowing fully well that you can't-and shouldn't-touch it! What were you thinking? Your hands!"

"Are fine, Mirri," he chuckled. "It's no big deal; I wanted to do it. The look on your face when you opened it up completely makes up for any damage done to me. Besides, platinum was just a little out of my price range, much as I would have loved to have gotten that for you."

Mirri looked torn between wanting to feel touched and wanting to pommel him for his sheer stubbornness.

Remus kissed her gently on the lips. "Please don't worry about it," he breathed, "It was my choice to do what I did."

It took Mirri a half second to obey with that kind of persuasion.

**A/N: I might as well mention that it's been a while since I've updated. I want to apologize for that. But, here I am again and I want to thank all of you for your patience. I also want to that Psycho8 for the very important fact about the silver and the werewolf combination. I didn't want to bring it up in the last chapter because I thought it would have taken away the romance a little bit. But I hope it was remedied to your liking! Thanks again everyone! A.I.**


	9. Charms

Chapter 9

It was several weeks since the Ball. School had started again and everything had gone virtually back to normal. The main difference? Remus and Mirri were officially an item; a couple, paramours, lovers, a thing, whatever one wanted to call it, and yet they weren't obvious about it. No public display of affection for two rule followers.

Four days before Valentine's Day cut a hole in the daily regularity of school humdrum. The Marauders and the rest of Gryffindor were in the middle of Transfiguration when it happened. The charm on Mirri wore off.

Her eyes went blank as she stood up, the scrape of the chair bringing all eyes her way, and slowly made her way to the door.

"Mirri?" Remus hissed in alarm.

"Ms. Libra," Professor McGonagall voiced frustratingly, "is there something about my lecture that displeases you? Please come take your seat."

Mirri stopped her slow movement forward and turned, her eyes a solid black with no sign of white. The class gasped and quieted immediately as Mirri spoke, her voice a monotone, "Albus Dumbledore must be told." Turning again, she continued her pace to the door.

McGonagall, pale and sweating slightly, grabbed her wand and addressed the class. "Everyone return to your house dormitories, immediately. Anyone who disobeys will receive detention for the rest of the semester." Her hard eyes silenced any protest before she rushed after her possessed student, indicating for the Marauders to follow her without a word.



She hadn't walked far. Professor McGonagall had given up trying to stop her when the only response she was receiving was the same dead, "Albus Dumbledore most be told."

When the Marauders, Lily, Alina, Treena, and Rachel showed up (the girls not caring about detention), McGonagall exclaimed, "Rachel, run and warn Professor Dumbledore that Ms. Libra is coming to him!" Rachel dashed off with one more worried look at Mirri.

No one knew what to do, Mirri didn't _seem_ dangerous, but that's like saying a wand didn't _look_ dangerous, and one could do some serious damage with that. Mirri just kept walking, though, her pace never faltering. Remus was beside himself, "What the hell is wrong with her?" he demanded of Sirius, his hands fisting in Sirius' shirt front. "Why is she acting like this?"

Sirius unlocked Remus' fists from his shirt, "She'll be okay, Remus," he said, although he didn't sound too convinced.

McGonagall placed a hand on Remus' shoulder. "You need to calm yourself, Remus. Dumbledore will be able to help, I'm sure."

But her words seem to float over him and away as he jumped in front of Mirri, staring at her and being extremely unnerved at the black emptiness in her eyes. Putting his hands on her shoulders, he tried to bodily stop her, but ended up being pushed down the hallway due to her uncharacteristic strength.

As Mirri and her distressed escort reached the statue in front of Dumbledore's office, Sirius murmured, "You don't think she's going to force her way in, do you?"

Everyone exchanged worried glances, "I'd rather not have that happen," McGonagall stated, calling out the password, "Pineapple cream pie," and letting Mirri walk up the steps without being interrupted.



Dumbledore was sitting at his desk with Rachel pacing anxiously when Mirri came in.

"Rachel, Treena, Alina, I want you three to leave. Your friends can update you later. What is the meaning of this, Ms. Libra?" he asked calmly, acting as if this were a normal, everyday conversation between student and teacher as the three girls gave concerned glances behind them when they left..

Mirri stood alone in the middle of the office, her friends taking seats at various points in the room.

"Time is drawing to a close, Albus Dumbledore," she droned, slowly raising one hand to point, "Before the stroke of midnight within the next fortnight, the ones by the names of Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, James Potter, and Lily Evans will cease to exist. There is no point in hiding, it only prolongs the inevitable."

Everyone, except Dumbledore, gave gasps of shock.

"And who, may I ask, is responsible for this warning?" Dumbledore asked, white knuckles and steel blue eyes the only betrayal to his stress.

"You may ask, but the answer will reveal itself in good time," Mirri reported, her eyes lying at a point some two feet in front of her. "So, good-bye, Albus Dumbledore; your end with come soon enough." A dead chuckle escaped Mirri lips before her eyes shrunk to their original state and she swayed. Dumbledore and Peter were there to catch her unconscious body before it hit the floor. They placed her on the same couch where she had been three months earlier after the dragon attack.

"Now, we must wait for her to awaken," Dumbledore said as he sat in one of the plush armchairs. His face for one instant looked indefinitely older than normal before he arranged it in a blank mask.

McGonagall stood behind Dumbledore's couch where she had been standing since Mirri began her little speech. The whole conversation lasted only a few moments. The Marauders and the girls were all in shock and silent until Peter broke it.

"Why wasn't my name listed?"

"Who knows?" Dumbledore answered after a heavy second.

Twenty-four minutes passed in a thick tension before Mirri stirred and opened her thankfully normal brown eyes. She jerked up. "Where am I?" When she caught sight of everyone around her and Dumbledore's office, she started blasting questions: "Why am I here? How did I get here? Why does everyone look like someone has died?"

Dumbledore was the first to react. "Calm down, Mirri. Everyone is all right at the moment, but I'm afraid you just gave some news that is sorely concerning." Her confusingly alarmed look let him smile slightly. "I can see you don't remember what's occurred. Let me refresh you memory."



_He sat at the entrance of the rocky cave, lounging on a magically created bench. The sun was just dipping below the tree line, suddenly casting the clearing and cave in shadow. Putting a cigar in his mouth and lighting it, he pulled out his wand and idly etched fire into the air, the acrid smoke winding its way skyward. As the minutes passed the subject of the depiction slowly came into surprisingly accurate focus. Mirri Libra stared down at him with terror filled fire-eyes, her face pulsing with the flames._

"_So," he mused absentmindedly, "it's begun."_

_Drawing in a puff of his cigar, he flicked his wand and froze the picture in ice and let it drop to the ground. It shattered._



"But why wasn't my name listed with the others?" Peter asked again.

"Because of what you grow up to do," Mirri muttered, covering her face with her hands.

"What do I-"

"I am _not_ tampering with your future," Mirri looked up and spat at him. "You will wait until it happens and not a moment sooner. So stop asking me."

Peter looked sheepish.

"So," Sirius said in the tense silence, "what can we expect from this bastard? Sorry, professor. What are we going to do?"

"I think Mirri needs some rest," Dumbledore said gently, "so I want all of you to come again after dinner tomorrow. You are all excused from classes tomorrow."

The group left McGonagall and Dumbledore in a daze. Classes were finished for the day, and so had dinner. Everyone they passed skirted out of the way and shot them angry glances as they wandered down the hallway, not bothering to weave in and out of traffic and just walking straight.

As they reached the Gryffindor Tower, Mirri held Remus back, "I need to talk with you. Where can we go where we won't be disturbed?"

Remus had a pretty good idea the content of this conversation. "Follow me."

"Where are you guys going?" a voice asked behind them. James was standing at the portrait entrance.

"We'll be back later," Remus replied, pulling Mirri down the hall.

James just shrugged, his brain too occupied to really care what the two of them were up to.

Remus led her up several flights of stairs and through several corridors before stopping in front of a large blank wall and a tapestry of Barnabas the Barny and trolls in tutus behind them. He left Mirri standing and walked past the blank wall three times, his mind focusing intently before an elaborate door appeared. Mirri smiled faintly at the triggered memory and opened the door to the Room of Requirement. Better than anything they could hope for, a similar room to their common room was spread out in front of them, complete with a warm fire to keep the chill of winter and horror of truths at bay.

"Perfect," Mirri heard Remus whisper.

"You're absolutely right," she muttered in return, her mood darkening at the task at hand. "And it's time for me to share what I've been holding back. No more secrets. I will tell the rest, of course, but I want you to be the first to know."

He took a seat in one of the armchairs, but Mirri was too nervous to sit down. "I guess I should just start at the root of the problem: my family."

Remus gave her a confused look as she began.



She had grown up with a large family that got along pretty well and (for the most part) was kind. I wasn't until one family reunion when she was nine that an unannounced person walked in, unwelcome and scorned. She was rather surprised to find this woman, followed by a nineteen-year-old girl and a three-year-old boy, was a cousin of hers with her daughter and grandson. "A disgrace," was muttered repeatedly as her grandfather told the woman to leave.

"I am part of this family, old man," the woman spat, "I have every right to be here."

Grudgingly, the family let this unknown cousin stay. Mirri went to play with her other cousins and the little boy followed, proving within the first few seconds that he was a horrible handful. Dustin, as his name became evident as many of Mirri's aunts and uncles exclaimed repeatedly, was not a good player.

Five years after this family reunion, Mirri saw Dustin again, but this time, he looked about twenty years old. But there was no mistaking the blond-white hair and air of disgust. A growth disorder, her mother claimed, causing him to grow at a rapid rate. Whatever it was, Mirri hated him. When their eyes made contact, she could repress a shutter at the dead, harsh black. Cold and unfeeling. Dustin sneered at her and continued on his way.

That was the last she saw of him. And then, one summer afternoon, she went to the library and walked into the world of magic.

Remus knew all that had happened up until the part of the kidnapping.

Flashback

_Mirri kept struggling against the claws that held her captive, causing the sharp talons to dig into her sides as they tightened._

"_Stop wriggling," the dragon steamed, smoke billowing from his mouth as he spoke._

_Hearing his voice made Mirri stop only because it sounded familiar. "Why are you doing this? Who are you?" she yipped in pain._

_He ignored her question, "We're almost there," he said instead._

_And then there was a break in the dense, darkness below. The dragon swooped down and dropped her from a significant height, her left arm making an ugly crack as she hit the ground. Landing next to her, the dragon stood next to her and turned into a human. Mirri gasped._

"_Dustin?"_

_Of course, she was still a wolf, so he didn't understand as he pointedly gestured. She morphed back with a gasp of pain and demanded, "What the hell are you doing here?"_

"_Now, now, cousin," Dustin droned, his dark eyes glinting eerily in the moonlight, "what kind of hello was that? I haven't seen you in a couple of years."_

"_You're no more my family than a cockroach," she spat._

_Dustin grinned, Mirri cringed, "Ah, but in some religions any creature could have been a relative in a past life."_

_Mirri narrowed her eyes, "As riveting as this history is, I must be going." In half a second, Mirri morphed and dashed to best of her ability to the forest cover._

_Dustin was faster. In the same split second, he turned back into a dragon and swept his tail at her, sending her careening into the rock wall at the entrance of a cave behind him. She collapsed to the ground._

"_Since you're just lying there, listen up," he hissed, all form of false niceness gone. "Your little friends are on their way to rescue you. I will hide my scent and wait in the trees while you, my struggling little relation, will be here, luring them to the entrance. Then, I will kill all but Peter. Of course, you must understand why. Why should I not kill the boys who cause so much trouble to my master?"_

_Mirri groaned and glared at him, "You're Voldemort's pet?"_

"_His greatest ally!" he roared, swiping her to the other wall. "My Lord sent me here to this time and I brought you along with me. I knew your love of those books and I knew you would be he perfect bait after I knew yet again that you would try to befriend the Marauders. And you have done exactly what I hoped you would do. But you were so predictable, so I knew this would be easy."_

"_Your 'growth disorder' isn't that, is it?" Mirri muttered, "Voldemort's been sending you back in time. You've aged here."_

"_Perceptive," he praised, "but irrelevant. Now, you are going to help me with one more task."_

"_I'd sooner die than help you hurt my friends," she fumed._

_His tail threw her against the other wall again._

"_Not hurt. I will kill them. Lily Evans will come soon after," he whispered as she lost consciousness, "And you have no choice. You will die, though, right after the others."_

_She woke again to find herself alone, in massive pain, and hearing the Marauders coming toward her._

End Flashback

"I think he put the charm on me while I was unconscious. He said I had to help him with one more thing, and I think the warning to Dumbledore was it. He wasn't expecting to have the four of you still alive when I told him, though. You know the rest," she sighed, slumping back into the comfort of the armchairs.

Remus remained thoughtful, "But who is this Lord Voldemort? And are these the same books you were talking about? So why is Peter not being killed?"

"Voldemort is…" she started to explain, "Well, he is a rising Dark Lord from your future bent on controlling the world. Like Hitler from the muggles first World War. He wants to purify the wizarding race. Yes, they are the same books, and Peter is not on the list because he makes a bad mistake in the future that helps Voldemort."

Remus looked at her incredulously.

"We can stop that, though," she quickly reassured him, though her heart tore at the unavoidable circumstance. "But I don't know what to do, Remus. None of this would be happening if he hadn't brought me here."

Remus came forward and knelt in front of her, taking her hands in his; "How can it be your fault?" he asked her gently, "You didn't choose to be here. And you certainly can't feel like you have to be the one to solve this."

Mirri smiled weakly at him before she threw herself at him, burying her face in his chest. "I won't let you die, though. You can't die. _I'll_ die before I let that happen," she said, her voice muffled.

He kissed the top of her head as he wrapped his arms around her. "It's alright, Mirri."

She pulled away and took his face her hands, gazing at him with tear filled eyes. "You have to know that I would do anything in my power to stop what's happening in this world. This is all too precious to lose to a hell-driven psychopath. I can't lose you, not when I've found this so soon," she whispered, "I don't want to lose you."

"You're not going lose me," he replied, his heart hammering pointing at her own heart, "because I'm always going to be here, as corny as that sounds."

She covered his hand with her own. He tenderly kissed the tip of her nose as she managed a smile while he followed with a kiss on the lips.

"I love you," she whispered suddenly, "Even though we're only sixteen, I've never felt this strongly before. And I wouldn't say it unless I meant it. And I've-"

She was cut off by Remus pulling her toward him and kissing her soundly. She felt his heart beat skyrocket between them. "I love you, too." He voiced huskily when they broke apart. "We'll get through this, don't worry."

Mirri allowed herself a moment to forget about Dustin, Voldemort, and death as she and Remus reveled in their brief instant of happiness. Before they got too carried away, though, Mirri pulled away.

"This place may be convenient for such activities, Remus," she raggedly said, "but I think we should save such ideas for another time."

He kissed her collarbone once more before standing up and pulling her to her feet as well. "Believe me when I say that we'll get through this," he spoke softly in her ear as they walked out the door.

"I know," she smiled, wrapping an arm around his waist as he put one around her shoulders and squeezed.


	10. It Revolves Around Math

Chapter 10

Mirri woke on Valentine's to find a bouquet of roses sitting on her bedside table. She smiled as she recognized the handwriting on the card. _The sap._

It was beautiful Saturday morning, but cold. _I hate cold_, she thought non-vehemently. And it was a Hogsmeade weekend. The Marauders and the girls decided to try and forget everything (the Marauders had shared what happened with Alina, Treena, and Rachel) and just try and have some fun. Mirri put her game face on.

She met Lily in the hall. "I thought I should warn you," Lily greeted her, "Someone triggered the stairs; we'll be riding down."

"Sweet," Mirri replied, eying the stairs with excitement.

Lily gave her a sideways glance, "You sure you can handle it? I mean, no offense, but you're not the most graceful girl."

Mirri laughed, "Don't I know it. I cracked my head on my mirror this morning and I have a new cut on my arm that I have no idea where it came from. What about you?"

Lily smiled. "James sets off the stairs often enough that I've had plenty of practice about not getting a concussion. You don't want to slide on your seat. The house elves don't clean these stairs all that often."

Mirri's gaze at the stairs got a little more skeptical. "I think I'll be fine."

Lily rolled her eyes "See you at the bottom," and she was gone, sliding with the posture of a pro skateboarder.

Mirri strained her ears for a sound of Lily losing balance; there was none. She took a deep breath and stepped on the slide.

She immediately regretted her choice as her feet went out from under her and she hit her shoulder on the wall. She swore colorfully (that's what happens when you hand out with Sirius: your vocabulary expands). At every turn in the staircase she collided with the stone fixtures wondering why the hell the staircase was so long. She flew out the bottom into the arms of someone. "_Loved_ your word choice," Sirius' voice fell from above her as he placed her on her feet again. "Very bright and vibrant. I may make something of you yet, grasshopper."

Peter and Lily snorted, both grasping the couch in an attempt to keep their laughter at bay.

"Buggers," she muttered, glaring at them. "Who triggered the stairs?"

"James did," Remus said, coming up behind her, "of course."

The culprit was avoiding everyone's gaze and looking highly guilty and embarrassed. "My beautiful speech in the well was for you then, James _dahling_," she said with a perfect imitation of a their accent and blowing him a kiss.

James looked up long enough to give her a glare.



Everyone separated almost immediately after reaching Hogsmeade, reminding Mirri and Remus about the morning after the Ball. The two strolled the streets, hands linked and silent.

"Thank you for the roses," she said suddenly.

Remus smiled, "You deserved them."

Mirri snorted rather unladylike. "No, I didn't. I don't deserve anything after what I've put you and others through."

"Don't say that," Remus argued, pulling her to a stop and giving her a glare, "What we've been through is not your fault and I wish you would stop thinking that. That bastard, Dustin," he spat the name, "brought you here and drug you into this."

"But you endangered yourself coming to find me. And he's threatening to kill you!" she argued back.

"Stop that," he scolded, "I did what I did in that forest because the person I care about most in this world was in danger by a sociopath. It's _his_ fault, not yours."

Mirri smiled slightly. "All right. Fine, you win."

Remus pulled her into a hug. "Of course I do."

Mirri stepped away and started to pull him down the street. "Let's go to Zonko's. You and I could use a few laughs."

Remus shook his head and pulled her back into his embrace. "Now, I don't want you moving for a moment. I want to stand here and hold you and know that I have you."

Mirri confusedly held him in return.

"I don't care about Zonko's or Hogsmeade," he continued, his breath fogging around them, "I don't care about his Dark Lord or Dustin or the fact that they're going to try and kill me in the next week and a half. Let me take advantage of the time I have left."

"'Time left?'" she exclaimed, looking up at him strangely, "How can you say that? Weren't you the one who was telling me that it's going to be okay? What happened to the rational, clear-headed Remus Lupin I've come to know?"

Remus sighed, "I'm sorry. I guess I just don't want to face the facts. No matter how I look at it, I can't solve it. I'm sixteen-years-old for God's sake! So are you! Why the hell should we be dealing with this? This thing has an answer and I feel that it's right past the tip of my fingers. And I can't reach it and it frustrates the living hell out of me. And I know that you will have to go back to your own time, but I can't fully accept that. And-"

Mirri put a finger to his lips. "Don't. _Please_," she begged, "Can't we just take your original advice and just enjoy the day? I don't want to dwell in this hole of despair, no matter how bad it looks. Please?"

Remus placed his hands at her waist and took a deep breath. "Okay," he said around her finger, "Do one thing for me, will you? It'll make me feel better."

"Anything," she said immediately, her eyebrows raising. "What is it?"

He didn't respond verbally, just pulled her face toward him and kissed her desperately. Hard and passionately. Mirri idly noticed the cat calls in their direction, but noticed more prominently the fact that Remus must really be worried; he _never_ kissed her in public and _never_ this hard. She gasped when he nipped her bottom lip.

"Remus," she breathed, breaking away and pushing his hair out of his face. "This is really bothering isn't it? Or is it something else?"

"It's you."

"Me?" she asked incredulously.

"Yes," he sighed. "I just can't accept the fact that you may leave, and I don't want to."

Mirri smiled sweetly, "You were the one to reassure me that we'll be together, whether in the flesh or at heart. Even if I leave, I have the strongest feeling that we will see each other again. So smile."

Remus gave a small attempt. "Let me take you up on that offer to go to Zonko's."



For the past half hour the Marauders, Mirri, and Lily were sitting in Dumbledore's office. The fortnight, ending in two hours, was weighing on everyone's mind.

"Why doesn't he come now?" Sirius asked, pacing the room with Remus and James. "Get it over with."

"To torture us," Mirri groaned from her perusal of Dumbledore's books, trying to think of a way to stop Dustin. "What can we do? There has to be _a spell_ that Dustin can't go against besides the Unforgivable Curses."

"'Two roads diverged in a wood, and I --/I took the one less travelled by/and that has made all the difference,'" Dumbledore said over his steepled fingers.

"What was that?" asked Sirius as everyone looked at Dumbledore curiously.

"_One_ spell won't do it," Dumbledore continued, watching Mirri with meaning.

Understanding dawned in glorious radiance for Mirri, "Robert Frost. Combine for more power on the road less travelled!" she exclaimed scrabbling for books from the professor's shelf.

The others watched in increasing confusion. Who was Robert Frost? And what was the little rant the two were going on about?

Mirri was muttering under her breath as she took a quill and some parchment and started writing furiously as she flipped through the books. Dumbledore came over and said, "Make sure it's divisible by six."

"The ratio doesn't work, though," Mirri complained.

"That spell won't work," he pointed to one scribble on her paper, then calmly pointed randomly in one of the open books, "This one."

Mirri scrawled quickly, "Got it. But why six, professor? Who's the other vessel?"

"Peter?"

Mirri whirled on the headmaster, "But-"

"I understand, but we must."

"All right," she said reluctantly. She stood and walked over to the others who instantly gathered around. "The professor just gave me a way to stop Dustin."

Everyone erupted simultaneously.

"Quiet!" she shouted, "We only have a little bit. When Dustin shows up, each of you are going to grab my shoulder and recite a spell that I am going to give you."

"What's going to happen?" Remus asked, inspecting his scrap of parchment.

"I'm not sure," she admitted, glancing at Dumbledore, "but it's a combination of spells that will end all problems in this time."

"'This time'?" Lily asked.

"Never mind; memorize these. It's crucial."



Midnight crept slowly up and all was quiet in the castle. In Dumbledore's office, the headmaster and the teenagers waited, each filled with dread. Not so much Dumbledore, though.

To pass the time, James and Sirius were playing chess, with Lily and Peter watching; Dumbledore was working with a strange luminous globe; and Mirri and Remus were talking quietly in a corner.

"Do you have your spell memorized?" she asked softly.

He nodded absentmindedly, his eyes fixed on the grandfather clock.

She coughed, "So, Dumbledore and I did the math regarding the spells-"

His eyes snapped to her face, "Math? How does math coincide with magic?"

Mirri sighed and responded by wrote, her mind's eye scanning the text from some book, "'Each spell ever created has a certain mathematical equation to it that can be combined with different variables to establish a magical equilibrium. When combining spells with one wand and more than one individual or vessel, the equations of each incantation must be proportional to the number of people performing.' It's rather simple." Seeing the astounded look on Remus' face, she smiled, "Math was kind of my forte in school back home. I find all this rather interesting. If you paid any attention in 'Arithmetic and Magic' you would find this simple, too."

"Wow," was all he managed.

"Anyway," she continued, "With regard to the math, we're _pretty_ sure that this will work. I'm afraid that, while we may not know the _exact_ outcome of the combined spells, we _do_ know that the bearer of the wand (me) used to channel the spells will cause a small rip in time and be launched back to the original time period of the person being spelled. Dumbledore is going to give me a device that will let me control where I land. That-"

"Wait a moment," he interrupted with force, making her wince, "Are saying that you're going back?"

Mirri kept her eyes on the floor, unable to look at him, "Yes; and Dustin will be coming with me. The force from our spells coming through me and at Dustin will hurl both of us into the space-time-continuum like some freaky sci-fi movie. Not entirely sure what state we'll be in, though. I just hope Dustin will be dead."

Remus stared at her, his face utterly unreadable making no comment.

Mirri finally met his eyes. "Remus…"

"I know we've discussed this. And I want to say that I understand and that it's what's best," he said slowly, his eyes boring into hers, "But I can't. And you can't leave."

She placed a gentle hand on his cheek. "Yes, I can. We've talked about his enough that I know you'll be all right. At least here people know I existed. I'm going back home where I've been gone for months where you and everyone are characters in a book series. They'll think I've gone crazy."

"It'll be difficult for both of us," he admitted quietly, reaching up and squeezing her fingers. "I love you. I want you to know that."

"I do," she whispered, leaning forward and kissing him lightly, "I love you, too."

Not satisfied, Remus captured her face and kissed her deeply, parting her lips and seizing her waist in a tight grip, clutching desperately.

The two heard whistles and jeers behind them and Mirri went to pull away. Remus growled in her mouth and kissed her harder, making a rude gesture with one hand in the general direction of the observers before bringing his attention back to their connection.



Sirius and James, the applauders, chuckled before catching sight of Dumbledore watching in mild amusement.

"Sorry, professor," they said in unison.

"I fully understand," he replied, "but leave them alone to let them say their goodbyes."

"That'll take forever," Sirius laughed before what Dumbledore said registered. "Wait, goodbyes?"

"What are you talking about?" Lily demanded.

"I'm afraid that the effects of the spells will send Ms Libra back to her time in the year 2004."

"No," she whispered while the others sat in numb shock. It shouldn't have been a surprise, right? But they had come to love Mirri.

Suddenly, a cold wind flew down the chimney in the office and blew out the fire and candles, plunging the room into darkness.

"What's going on?"

"I can't see. Where is everyone?"

"What the hell?"

"Who's this?"

"Ow, damn, it's James."

A light formed in the palm of Lily's hand bathing the room and it's occupants in silver light. Dumbledore had disappeared.

Sirius, Remus, and Mirri cursed simultaneously.

"Watch your language," a voice scolded.

Everyone, except Mirri, jumped.

"Dustin," Mirri intoned, coldly formal, to the lean figure lounging on the mantle.

"Little too icy there, cousin," he sneered, "and after I made sure you were all right and cozy with your friends. Have they been teaching you these foul words? Wash your mouth."

Soap bubbles spilled from Mirri's mouth as she choked and sputtered.

"You, too, boys," he continued, pointing at Remus and Sirius, soap bubbles pouring forth.

"What the hell do you want, you bastard?" Lily demanded as the light in her hand expanded slightly.

"Fiery temper you have there, sweetheart," Dustin droned, giving Lily a once over with his eyes, "I like that. I might have some fun with you before I kill you. Good hand with charms, too; I wonder how accomplished those hands are?"

The silver flame grew to the size of a beach ball, "Answer the damn question," she hissed with James fuming next to her.

"Don't worry your pretty little head over it," he sweetly quipped, "It won't be long, I promise. One romp and then you'll die."

The flame exploded in his direction with a shout. Dustin merely chuckled as it vanished with a flick of his wand. "I know you lot can do better than that. Or are you just ready to accept your fate?"

"Never," Mirri snapped, "You want a performance? We'll give you a performance."

Everyone reached out a hand and placed them on Mirri's shoulders.

"James," Mirri ordered.

"_Riapsed D'na_," he recited.

"Lily."

"_Htaed ot Ni_."

"Peter."

"_Dewol lofsah Taht_."

"No," Dustin paled, "No, it can't be."

"Oh, it can," Mirri smirked. "Sirius."

"_Liveeht D'nes_."

"You don't know what you're doing! Stop!"

"Remus!"

"_Gnol Ebierehw!_"

"_Kcab em D'nes!_" she finished as a swirl of gold light thrust from the end of her wand like a whirlwind.

Dustin emitted one scream before the swirl swallowed him. He disappeared. The whirlwind slowed and pulsated, turning to the teenagers.

Mirri smiled. "I have a moment before it takes me, too," she told the others, turning to them.


	11. Goodbye

Chapter 11

"Well," Mirri sighed, giving a weak smile, "I guess this is it."

_So lately, I've been wondering,_

_Who will be there to take my place?_

_When I'm gone, you'll need love_

_To light the shadows on your face._

"That was rather anticlimactic," Peter stated, "Why didn't he put up a fight?"

"He couldn't," she replied, "He recognized the fact that the spells were too complex to beat." She looked over her shoulder at the swirl and turned back to her friends, "It's going to take me home to Boston."

_If a greater wave shall fall_

_Yeah, fall upon us all_

_And between the sand and stone_

_Could you make it on your own?_

"You can't go!" Lily cried, throwing her arms around Mirri.

The latter returned the hug for a brief moment before Lily pushed away and sank in an armchair, her tears falling unnoticed down her cheeks. Mirri, unbelievably calm, moved to hug James.

_If I could, then I would,_

_I'd go wherever you will go._

_Way up high, or down low_

_I'd do wherever you will gp/_

"Take care of her," she said softly, "Don't act like such a git and maybe you'll have a chance."

He nodded, "Take care yourself, Mirri. Sorry we didn't get along as well."

"What are you talking about?" she laughed, moving to Peter, "Arguing with you was the best."

_And maybe I'll find out_

_A way to make it back someday_

_To watch you, to guide you_

_Through the darkest of your days._

Hugging Peter, she whispered in his ear, "Pick your friends wisely. The ones you have now are the best you could ever hope for."

"I know that," he smiled.

_If a greater wave shall fall_

_Yeah, fall upon us all_

_Well, I hope there's someone out there_

_Who can bring me back to you._

Sirius grabbed her in a bear hug. "Don't you _ever_ change, Mirri," he muttered.

"You either, Sirius," she gasped through the rib-cracking squeeze, "And find yourself a girl as crazy as you to calm you down a little."

"Will do," he replied, pushing her toward the last individual.

_Run away with my heart_

_Run away with my soul_

_Run away with my love_

_So right now_

Tears were silently running down his face as they both collided. He kissed her passionately once before pushing her towards the gold whirlwind. "I love you, Mirri Libra. And, dammit, I will find you again."

"I know."

_It's quiet now_

_My life, my love might still go on_

_In your heart, in your mind,_

_I'll stay with you for all of time_

Casting a final look over her friends, the breeze stirring her hair, she settled on Remus with a sigh as the eddy closed in on her. "I love you," she whispered.

_If I could, then I would,_

_I'd go wherever you will go_

_Way up high, or down low_

_I'd go wherever you will go._

The last thing he saw of her were her tear-filled brown eyes.

**A/N: So, it's done. This piece actually took me seven months to write back in my freshman year of high school. I've just finished typing it up and editing it (majorly!). The sequel, if you're up for it, comes next. **_**Wolf By Moonlight**_**. It's not nearly as long, but keep an eye out for it. This last chapter features the song "Wherever You Will Go" by the Calling. I don't own any places or characters (though I wish I did) except for Mirri, Alina, Treena, Rachel, and Dustin. Thanks for reading!**


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